This Dance
by Sunny Day in February
Summary: Antonio wants Lovino to be his dancepartner at Austria's ball. Lovino, struggling with his growing feelings of love and affection for everyone's favorite tomato-bastard as always, agrees. Now, there could be worse things, right? Spain/Romano.
1. Intro

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. I do own a nice radio and a pair of pink socks.**

_A/n: English isn't my first language - sorry if I made (some/many?) mistakes... _

**This Dance: Intro**

_**Lovino**_

It happened to be late in the evening when I found myself being home alone.

Well. What a nice coincidence, having this giant, weird House (no really, it was) all for myself without my stupid little brother around to annoy me.

Although it really wasn't _that_ much of a 'coincidence'. In the past couple of weeks, Feliciano had often left the House in the evening, _never, ever_ telling me where the fuck he was going to. That little bastard. Not that it was really _necessary_ to tell me – we both knew he was planning to see potato-smelling bastard Germany again today when he was standing in the middle of the living room, sheepishly asking me if it was okay with me if he left right after dinner.

'Of course it isn't 'okay', you potato-humping idiot!' was what I wanted to shout at my very _gay_ brother (he was so _undeniable_, so_ absolutely_ gay, I often wondered why he didn't barf fucking _rainbows_ or Mika CD's yet), but since Feliciano would go anyway, no matter what I said, I kept my mouth firmly shut and let him go. That's right, I'm a very noble person.

And so here I was, home alone, yet again.

At first I didn't feel too happy about this, but when I ignored the fact that my younger brother was probably going to _get some_ (potato) tonight and took a closer look at our brand-new television…

Fuck yeah! Being home alone was _great!_

But after 30 minutes of zapping around the many, _many_ channels (goddammit, over fucking 300 channels already), I got bored and decided to watch some crappy movie. Good lord, that movie was full of shit. No, _made_ of shit. In any case, it was shit. Shit shit.

Shit.

You get the picture.

I groaned and knitted my eyebrows together. Great. New television, no whining Feliciano in sight… and not a single interesting program, _whatsoever_. That's the story of my life, I guess. I turned off the TV and suddenly felt a bit (just a bit, I swear) lonely.

Damn it…

'_Ah, whenever you feel lonely, Lovi, all you have to do is give me a call!~'_

I felt my face heating up when I thought about the friendly – no, _not_ friendly, _stupid_ – words of a certain Spanish bastard, which _the same_ Spanish bastard (what are the odds) had told me earlier this week when I complained about Feliciano and his wurst-sucking lover.

Like hell I was going to call him! No way! No _fucking_ way! I didn't need him! Why should I call him when there were plenty of cute, pretty girls around my place to hang out with? Yeah, exactly!

I felt better and sat up. Like the girl I met yesterday, she had such shiny, green eyes and short and curly hair and a voice so overwhelmingly beautiful…

Oh, wait.

'_Ah, something wrong, Lovi? I thought I could visit you to give you some of my freshly harvested tomatoes!~' _

My blush increased. That hadn't been a girl.

Fucking shit. Fucking Antonio.

…

Maybe I _should_ call him.


	2. Stopping By

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. I doubt I ever _will._**

_A/n: Again, watch the frightening mistakes I could have made..._

**This Dance: Stopping by**

_**Lovino**_**:**

Or not.

I mean, I didn't _have_ to call him… why should I? Just because I felt a little bit lonely? Pssh. What's _new_. I could _handle_ being alone. It's not like I've never been alone before, so why would tonight be such a difference!

Yeah! That's right! I was a lonely wolf and a proud one too, dammit!

But…

Well, maybe I _should_ call him.

Because… well… Antonio could be lonely, too. It wasn't very likely with friends like France and Prussia (those two fuckers were always around Antonio's place trying to molest him, or _me_, or… the damn _furniture_, for all that matters), but it was possible, right? He _could_ be lonely. A-and it wasn't like _I _got anything better to do right now, so… m-might as well try to contact him.

I glanced over to the phone, right next to the couch on a nice little table. No, I didn't glance, I _stared _at it. Should I do it? I bit my lower lip in doubt and slowly reached out to the black, antique thing Feliciano and I called 'phone', even though it really didn't look like one.

Then the son of a bitch started _ringing_.

I might have jumped a bit, but not very much. And I didn't fall off the old couch at all. Damn thing, scaring me like that! I frowned, got up and answered the call.

'Who the hell is it!'

I could have sounded a bit annoyed.

'_Lovi!' _I froze. T-that voice.

'_Ah, I'm so glad you're still awake! It's me!~ I was afraid you were sleeping or Feli would answer the phone, but it's you! I'm so happy!~ _

I held the phone at some distance away from me, staring at it like it was some kind of bomb while Antonio was still rambling on and on about… well, how should I know! That nasty bastard, calling me before I had a chance to call _him_, dammit! How dare he, how dare he to defy _my_ telephone-skills!

B-but it was nice to hear his voice again, so friendly and warm and… NO. On no, don't go there, Lovino, whatever you did, do NOT go THERE.

'J-just tell me what the heck you want, idiot!' I managed to crack out, _not_ blushing because I wasn't charmed by his call _at all_.

For a moment, it stayed quiet at the other side of the phone – which was rare enough to freak me out, to be honest – but then I heard him clacking his tongue in gentle dismay.

'_Aw, Lovino. Please watch your language. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if it's alright for me to visit you! I have to show you some invitation I got tod—'_

'What?! N-no! Stay at home, goddammit! You stupid idiot, don't you know what time it is? Go to bed already!'

There was a short silence.

'_Ah. So… you don't want me to drop by?'_

'No! Not at this unholy hour!'

'_Well, in that case, can you tell me where to find a neat little hotel around your place?'_

I opened my mouth and then shut it again. Oh no. Don't tell me.

'…Spain?'

'_Yes, Lovi?'_

'…you're standing in front of my door, aren't you.'

'_Ahahaha… maybe?'_

I shook my head and hung up (with a loud _bang_, serves that bastard right), after which I raised up from my couch and dragged myself towards the front door, just a couple of rooms and halls further. While walking, I heard the telephone ringing like mad again but ignored it, just like that: I knew who was calling. That dense bastard never took a hint anyway.

When I reached my door, I caught myself looking into the mirror on the wall critically before I took a deep breath and grasped the doorknob.

What the hell! Why did I hope to look _nice_, dammit! Why did I have to gather _courage_ to grab the doorknob! And _what_ the _fuck_ was up with my trembling hands!

This was Antonio, for God's sake! Just Antonio! Just that stupid Spanish bastard!

I was getting too flustered to open the door in a normal manner, so I slammed it open like a fucking _maniac_ and probably left quite a big mark into the wall. Antonio looked up from his weird mobile phone, face and eyes immediately lightening up the moment he saw me. No, scratch that, his whole _being_ lit up. And I wasn't happy at all and my heart didn't flutter in the _least_ to see him, no, not al all.

He put away his phone and ran a hand through his dark and somewhat curly hair, smiling at me with that damn broad smile of his. 'Ah, hi Lovi!~ I was just calling you again! But now you're here, I don't have to anymore!'

God. Was his brain fast or _what_.

'Anyway,' he smiled again, '…thank you for letting me in!'

I snorted and leaned against the door pillar, blocking the way. 'That's weird, I don't remember asking you to come in.'

Antonio's face fell and suddenly I really wanted to kick myself. Hard.

'J-just kidding, you moron!' I stammered hastily before he started crying, and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him inside. '…j-just hurry the fuck up, it's cold.'

At least his smile came back again.


	3. Muy Amable

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. But I can always pretend I do.**

_A/n: My, the chapters are getting longer… Beware!_

**This Dance: Muy Amable**

_**Antonio:**_

Ah, sadly enough, Lovi's not a very touchy-feely person.

He hates it whenever I pat his head or touch his arm or try to _jump_ him (I don't know either why I keep on doing that), so I_ know_, and everybody around me knows, I could… you know, stretch out my lifespan by not touching him. _Ever._

You should try and imagine my surprise when my cute, little, cursing, 'touch me and you're dead' –Lovino just _grabbed _me and pulled me in. It was weird – in a very nice way. I was wondering what his neighbors would say when they saw him _haul _me in like some big… fish. Ahahahaha, now _that's_ an image!

Anyway, I was very happy Lovi didn't send me away. I mean, this is Lovino 'Romano' Vargas I'm talking about, not really somebody who's into sudden, unannounced visits or surprises. Although he was amazingly _kind_ to me the other day when I looked him up, _rebelliously unexpected_ as I could be, just to give him some tomatoes…

Well, sure, those were very fine tomatoes indeed, but still…

In the meantime, Lovino had managed to drag me through his and Feli's House, mumbling something about 'living room' and looking so very, very, _very_ cute, blushing like that, I almost swooned just looking at him! I wanted to hug him _sooo _badly, but I didn't. Lovino hits _really _hard.

I noticed the peaceful and calm atmosphere (would you look at that, I _noticed!_) around Lovino's place and didn't hear any stumbling or suspicious 've~' sounds. I also didn't smell delicious Italian dishes, normally greeting me the minute I walked in, and the living room sure was a lively mess. In other words… Feliciano wasn't home.  
Ah, he was visiting Germany, of course! Well, good for him!

So... this meant…  
Lovino was home alone. And I was here too.

Huh. How odd, I thought I felt something strange tickling in my stomach, but that funky-looking tomato I ate this afternoon was probably the one to blame. What else could it be, right?

Lovino flopped down into his brown couch and glared at me. He glared some more when I smiled at him happily.

'Sit down, idiot. And stop smiling like that!'

'Ah? Oh, okay!' I walked over and sat down next to him, my eyes getting bigger in surprise as soon as the couch and I collided. '…what a nice couch! So comfortable! I didn't know you had such a great couch!'

'What the fuck are you getting all happy about, it's only a couch!' Lovino snarled, before quickly shoving away from me. '…a-and don't sit so close to me, dammit!'

'Hm? Oh, sorry.'

'And another thing!' Lovi pointed his slightly trembling finger at me dramatically, '…who the _hell_ told you to sit next to me, anyway!'

I grinned. 'You did!~'

'I did _not_!'

'Oh yes you did!~'

'No I didn't and _shut up_!'

'But I like sitting next to you, Lovi…' I smiled gently and moved towards him a bit more. Oh, I must have felt suicidal today!~

'S-shut up, jackass…' Lovino stammered, face bright and beautiful red and pouting, folding his arms like a grumpy little girl. He didn't stop me from approaching him, though.

I swallowed. God. S-so cute, so very cute, Lovi…

'...a-are you going to tell me what you're doing here already?' he muttered suddenly, voice soft and vulnerable, '…stupid bastard, always popping up like this…'

I sighted. Oh, he was cursing again… He swore like a trooper. Who taught him those horrible words, anyway? I didn't, did I? He shouldn't swear with that sweet, delicate mouth of his, so _soft_, so _kissable_, so…

'Oy! Idiot!' Lovino's brown, angry eyes made me look at him again and forget the… _strange_ thoughts I had about him just a second ago, '…I'm waiting, bastard! Why the hell are you here! Explain yourself, you fiend!'

Fiend?

'Ah, sorry! I'll show you why I'm here, Lovi! Just a moment…'

I dug my hand into my pocket and frowned, trying to find the… ah! There it was. My fingers closed themselves around a piece of hard paper.

'Tadaah!' I chirped joyfully, pulling out the invitation I've had received earlier today and waving it in front of the younger nation in front of me. 'Do you know what this is, Lovi?'

He snorted. 'Crap.'

'Watch your mouth.'

'Like hell I will!'

I was getting slightly annoyed, but decided to try and ask it Lovi one more time, now while giving him one of my _brightest_, _sunniest_ smiles I've had in me, one that could even knock Francis out.

'Come on, Lovi… what do you think this is, hm?'

Lovino stared at me intensively, eyes half lidded and cloudy. Then he finally gave in and tilted his head to look at the card in my hands, still blushing, still cute.  
'F-fine, you bastard, I'll look…'

HA! Spain FTW!

I smiled victoriously. 'Thank you!~'

'Shut it.' Lovino squeezed his eyes and focused his gaze on the small, but fancy-looking piece of paper in my hands. He seemed to have a hard time reading the tiny words. He could have, you know, _asked_ me to _give it to him _(which for some dark reason sounded very dirty to me) but he didn't. He probably was also aware of the dark reason.

Aww.

'…is it some sort of… card?' he asked, at last.

'Yes! No! It's an invitation!' I said, wastefully happy, _swooshing_ my arms around for absolutely no good reason at all, '…want to know what's it about?'

'No. You're a bastard.'

'Good! Then I'll read it to you!~'

And so I did.


	4. Invite Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. You should know this already.**

_A/n: The next chapter will take a bit longer, because I'm busy with… you know, things, as we all are. But don't worry, it's already halfway done…_

_A/n 2: Fanfiction was acting really...silly, yesterday. That's why I'm uploading this now._

**This Dance: Invite me**

'_Dear Mister Antonio Fernandez Carriedo AKA Spain,_

_You are invited to the grand Ball of Mister Roderich Edelstein (Austria). This Ball will be held at June 8, 20?? at the House of Austria, in celebration of the birthday of mister Edelstein's dear friend, Miss Elizabeta Héderváry (Hungary)._

_The Ball will be opened at 20.00 o'clock sharp. We are expecting you to be present for at least 30 minutes before the start-off, because you are Spain and known for your lazy, easy-going nature. _

_At the Ball, there will be dancing – that's why it is called a Ball. So please be sharp-minded enough to take a partner with you._

_We will see you at the Ball. Good day._

_Yours truly,_

_Austria's secretary.'_

_**Antonio:**_

I had finished reading (out loud) and looked at Lovino, watching his face slowly twisting into an irritated, deep frown. 'So you got invited for bastard Austria's ball. How nice. I didn't get anything. Fucking, sort-of German asshole. Was that all?'

I slowly shook my head and put my invitation away. Okay… now for the heavy part. I took a deep breathe and plastered a big and hopefully irresistible smile on my face (again – Francis would have died happily), interlacing my fingers together. For the first time in my life, I must have looked quite serious. Maybe next time I got serious, I could wear _glasses_!

Oh, stay focused… stay focused…

I looked at him. 'Lovi, I was hoping you'd come to Austria's ball… _with me_.'

Lovino rolled his eyes and folded his arms behind his head. 'Really, Spain, how stupid _are_ you! Shit, didn't I just tell you that Austria, that four-eyed bastard, didn't invite me? Why don't you and your molesting friends Prussia-**jerk** and France-**raper** go together! Go ahead, go to that party like the three badass friends you are and knock yourselves out. Set the place on fire. Hell, set _Prussia_ on fire. I don't care.'

Oh. Well, I should have expected Lovino to interpret it the wrong way…

'No, Lovi, I that's not what I meant…' I hesitated, approaching him carefully, '…I want to have you as my _partner_, Lovino!'

His jaw dropped. '…your _what_?'

'My partner, Lovino. I want you to be my dance partner.'

The terrifying silence that followed was probably ten times worse than Lovi head butting me in the guts. I stared at Lovino, nervous and fidgeting. I heard Lovino's breathing increasing and saw his face getting redder by the second – and I really didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

Then he suddenly turned to face me and I froze in all of my movements. Oh boy.

'You… are a lousy son of a bitch, Spain! I-I mean, what the hell! W-who do you think you are, storming in and demanding me to be your stupid dance partner! You sick bastard! Don't you think it would be more logical to… oh, I don't know, bring a fucking _girl_ as you partner? Shouldn't you call Belgium or something to take with you?'

Lovino panted, his chest going up and down rapidly.

I remained silent for a moment, but then smiled friendly at the brunette. 'Belgium? _Please_, Lovi. As if I would take Belgium with me when I've got somebody like _you_ to accompany me.'

He stared at me.

'I want _you_ to come with me, Lovi,' I explicitly said, stressing every word as convincing as I could, '…just _you_. Nobody else.'

Then I ducked for cover, because surely he would let me say this without tearing me apart, right? Right?

…but nothing happened. I looked up cautiously, only to find Lovino next to me, blushing and with a hand clasping his mouth in shock. His eyes were big and beautiful and full of insecurity. He was very persistent in avoiding _mine_.

'L-Lovi?' I poked his leg. He jumped at the touch and swatted my hand away. 'Don't you dare touching me, you beast!'

Beast? Now, how… ladylike. Was Lovino reading those… um… 'romance' novels of Hungary again? Did he fantasize about him being the the leading _girl_? Ah, Lovi… Cute…

'What's wrong, Lovino?' I asked him.

'Everything!' he barked back, '…I… I don't get it! Why the heck would you want to take _me_ to Austria's ball, you fag! Damn, you're such a sad excuse for a man!'

I looked at him apologetically. 'Ah... I'm sorry.'

He sure made a big fuss about my offer, but… he still hadn't rejected it yet. Oh! Oh, would that mean… that maybe, just maybe, he actually _wanted_ to be my partner? I quickly thought about it some more, ignoring Lovino's whining and nagging about my failed masculinity.

I had to act fast. I knew that I got him where I wanted him to be if I _just_ pushed him a little bit further. Lovino was a nice guy, I knew he was, and now he was in a very vulnerable state of mind. Time for Boss Spain to take advantage of that!~

Yes, I could be a giant, manipulating bastard, indeed! Ahahahaha!

'Lovi?~' I purred, suddenly taking his hand in mine and not paying attention to his horrified face, '…would you please, please do this for me? Please?~'

The poor guy eyed me like he was facing an insane serial killer, but I also thought to see some kind of appreciation in this positively stunned glance. As if he felt… _flattered_. Needed. Which he was.

His hand was very clammy, by the way.

' H-hey, l-let go of me, b-bastard!' he stuttered weakly. Of course I didn't obey in the least and moved even closer to him. Lovino made a squeaky sound and leaned away from me.

'Would you be so kind to do that for me, Lovi? I'd be so very grateful!'

Another weird noise escaping his mouth.

'I can't do this without you, you know?' I grabbed his other hand too, '…I _need_ you, Lovi!~'

Good God, did he look _huggable_ whenever his face had this kind of red hue. Not to mention the silly, high-pitched noises! Ahahaha...~

I suddenly felt several feelings rising up inside of me. One of these feelings was an emotion I had never really known, or experienced, in many, many already past centuries. I didn't even know I _had_ it. But ever since Lovino had grown-up and become this _fine_ piece of Italy, I found myself struggling with his weird emotion more and more often. And always when I was around Lovi. Always. I knew that it wouldn't be too long before this feeling would take over my body and soul and… well, I don't know what would happen then.

I nervously licked my dry lips. What was _wrong_ with me?


	5. Too Damn Close

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Hidekaz Himaruya is a lucky man.**

_A/n: Yes, Antonio's today's narrator too. Because he's got a nice ass. That's a very good reason._

**This Dance: ****Too Damn Close**

_**Antonio**_**:**

'O-okay, you damn bastard, okay!' Lovino finally said, lovingly as always, '…i-if it means that much to you, _fine_! I'll be your stupid dance partner, dammit! Are you satisfied now!'

I had expected me to say yes. I had expected me to be jumping up and down, full of joy, hugging and twirling him around to show him just how thankful I was... but I didn't do anything of all that.

I only shook my head slowly, very slowly, and approached an absurdly red-faced Lovi some more, almost like a lion sneaking towards his prey.

Of course, Lovino wasn't too happy about that and he started cussing me out with a passion, obviously getting more and more uneasy and even _shy_ because all of this in the process. W-which made him _ridiculously _adorable.

Although Lovino's words were harsh and inevitable, I didn't hear a single threat. I didn't even see his deadly glance. I only saw Lovino had become very, _very_ appealing, very attractive throughout the years, that he still looked like a tomato very much, that his eyes had a really pretty, brown/greenish color and that he had crawled backwards _that much_ in the meantime, he'd almost fallen off the couch.

And now I was sort-of… hanging over him. Oh.

'W-wuh-WHAT THE HELL, YOU BASTARD!' he suddenly cried out, looking up at me in confusion, '…w-what are you planning to do to me, sick PERVERT! S-stop it!'

' So… you'll do it, yes?' I heard myself asking the younger nation, tracing a finger from his collarbone to his neck, _tormenting _slowly. He gasped and stared with a strange kind of anger in his eyes. '…y-yes, t-that's what I said, didn't I!'

I smiled warmly at him, never giving him enough space to get away from me. 'Ah, Lovi, that really makes me happy! You're so sweet!'

'Yeah, I'm a fucking angel. Get the hell off me!' He tried to get up.

I pushed him back – rather easily, too. 'Well, I should probably thank you. But how? Maybe you know something, Lovino!'

'…w-what are you talking about!'

'How can I show you my gratitude, Lovi? You know, for accompanying me to Austria's ball? Please tell me. There must be something I can do for you…'

Lovino pouted again, but surprisingly enough didn't waste his time with nagging and pushing me off of him anymore – he knew I wouldn't budge anyway. He wrinkled his forehead and… oh my, he was actually _trying_ to think of something, wasn't he?

A shocked expression flashed over his face, just a second, after which he started saying soft, quiet curses to himself. I noticed and looked at him curiously. 'Ah, did you think of something?'

'Y-yes. I mean, no! I mean…' he groaned and looked away from me, '…it was nothing. Forget about it. N-now get off.'

'Nope!~ Unless you say 'please'.'

'…oh, you've _got_ to be kidd… ugh. Fine. Please?'

'Nope!~'

'Fucking bastard.'

'That's me!~'

'S-Stop touching me!'

'Maybe I will… but only after you've told me what you want. And I saw you already thought of something. Tell me, Lovi?~'

Lovino gritted his teeth. 'You… you mean, low, son of a bi—'

I calmly placed a finger on his lips, silencing him almost immediately.

'…well…' I said, friendly, '…when I'm removing my finger from your (_delicious, sweet, beckoning_) lips, you _will_ tell me what you thought of. You _will_ tell me what I can do to thank you. Alright?'

'Mphnmmmmhnhmmnh!' Lovino shook his head.

I shrugged lazily. '…fine by me. In that case, you can stay like this a little bit longer. I don't mind, you know.'

I didn't mind it at all. Dominating Lovino by just putting a finger onto his lips and watch him quivering like that gave me a surprisingly good feeling. Yup, the lower half of my body was feeling really happy right now.

…ah, why was that?

Meanwhile, Lovino was looking at me rather murderously. I mean, if looks could kill, I (and Francis, Gilbert, Germany and a whole lot of other countries _and _his silly brother – accidently) would have been extremely dead. Like dead to the _max_. Like already being dead and still getting glared at to _hell_. That's my Lovi, ahahaha…

…but really, his eyes started to scare me.

'You know, it's all your own fault!' I defended myself against his dark, accusing eyes, '…come on, the only thing you've got to do for me, is telling me how I can show you my gratitude. That can't be too hard, can it? Please, I won't laugh at you or something. Please, Lovi?'

I didn't get an answer right away – he still seemed to be genuinely _pissed off_, but it also looked like Lovino was discussing with himself. I blinked a few times while watching it. Wow, some kind of heavy conversation that had to be: his eyebrows where making weird, spastic movements and his cheeks turned even redder than before, almost making it painful to look at.

And yet, he seemed to calm down a bit. So after a short while, I took my chances and asked him again: '…and, are you willing to tell me what you want _now_?'

Lovi just stared at me for a moment, nodding slowly. Well, was that so hard? I was satisfied and removed my finger, as (sort-of) promised.

Not a second later, a heavy fist was landing into my stomach with quite some force. _Ouch_.

'You bastard! Try to blackmail me again and you'll be breathing through a straw for the rest of your sick, lousy life!' he hissed. While I was busy gasping for air, I heard the panicking tone in his voice and wondered what could be so horrible to ask me. It really had to be something huge! What could it be?

'Ahahaha… okay, Lovi…' I smiled weakly, rubbing my poor tummy like his attack hadn't hurt _that_ bad but still enough to made my knees go floopy (yes, floopy, floopy is a word), '…sorry for that… anyway, tell me, now. What is it that you want from me?'

'I…' Lovi bit his lower lip, which sent odd, but pleasant shocks down my spine.

I tried to ignore it and nodded encouraging. 'You...?'

He lowered his head and clutched his hands to fists. '…iss me.'

'What?'

'I-I said kiss me, you stupid jerk!' Lovino shuddered while saying it.

'You… you want me to kiss you?'

'I-I'm not saying it again, bastard!'

'Ah—'

'…don't... don't tell my stupid brother I asked you this! Don't tell _anybody_!' He looked at me, face burning and eyes shining like never before. He was beautiful, really. Really, really beautiful. God.

I quietly watched him, feeling my own cheeks were also turning red – not as red as Lovino's were, but still very red. Finally, I chuckled and ruffled Lovi's hair.

'…alright, I promise I won't tell anybody. But… well… why would you want a kiss from me?'

'…how the fuck should _I_ know!'

I stared at him. 'Well, _you're_ the one who wants it.'

'I… I… I just… it's just… goddammit, I don't know…'

'Ah, don't you worry, don't you worry at all, Lovi…' I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, carefully pressing him against my chest.

For a moment, Lovino was completely stunned and looked up at me. I saw he was afraid. Nervous. And frowning like the stubborn frowner he was. But I also saw something other than that. I actually saw some _longing_. For _me_. I saw he was longing for me, even though he didn't hold me and still tried to push me away.

'Anyway… I'd be happy to kiss you, Lovi.' I softly squeezed him, what earned me a frustrated yelp.

'Y-yeah, but… but just one, Spain!...' he stammered, relaxing just a little bit more into my arms, '…d-don't think this'll happen more often, 'cause it won't!'

'Yes yes, just one – I get it…' I confirmed softly – and maybe a bit breathless.

Then I leant into his face and kissed him.


	6. I Don't, But I Really Do

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. You are allowed to feel sorry for me.**

_A/n: Well, don't expect much from me the next days – I have to work my ass off for school. And oh, how glad I am with that. Anyway, next update will be next Saturday or Sunday, you'll see…_

_A/n 2: Lovi's POV's back, yay!~_

**This Dance: I Don't, But I Really Do**

_**Lovino**_**:**

What.

Just, WHAT.

What… the HELL…

H-had I lost my fucking _mind?!_ Why in the whole damn world did I ask that jackass Antonio to…

T-to… to…

Aargh, it was too fucking embarrassing! I didn't want to say it, I didn't even want to _think _about it!

…but… but on the other side… I really _did_ want to think about it. I mean, it was the first and _only_ thing that came up to my mind after Antonio had asked me to think of something for him to thank me (for _what_, I only agreed to be his dance partner, not his fucking _bride – _I mean groom! Groom, not bride! _He'_d be the bride!)…

Yes, I had wanted him to k… to ki…

Chigii! I couldn't, couldn't, just _couldn't_ say it! I couldn't even say it to _myself_, for God's sake! What the fuck! What was that all about! Damn it all!

It was all _his_ fault! With his stupid, green and beautiful eyes, looking at me all lovingly like that! And his… his hand, holding mine, and… and that finger touching my face…

I-it's not that I liked him or something! Hell no! I-it was just coincidence my heart started pounding like that and I'm sure I was able to keep my eyes off him. I think. Probably. Anyway, I didn't stare at him at all, no I really didn't!

But… even though I _certainly_ was pretty confident about me not liking that bastard Antonio _at all_… still the only thing I wanted him to give me, had been a…

A…

A k-kiss.

It may sound ridiculous, but for a very, _very_ short amount of time, I thought Antonio actually didn't _want_ to kiss me. It really was fucking stupid of me to think that, because Antonio, goofy, friendly, smiling Antonio, would even hug a fucking _psychopath_ if he was asked to do so.

But anyway, of course Antonio didn't mind to kiss me – that fucking pervert. It was kind of nice to watch _his_ cheeks turning pink for a change, but my blushing face put his to shame, after he had wrapped his arms around me.

Sneaky bastard. I thought my head would explode from blood overflow, dammit!

I managed to say something to Antonio, something like 'just one, you fucking, goddamned bastard', even though I knew I really wouldn't mind some more attention from him. O-or something like that, I don't know…

Antonio had smiled at me, as always, after which he had closed the already short distance between us completely.

Oh God.

_Oh God oh God oh God…_

It felt…

It felt… not too bad… it wasn't that… overwhelming, it was just a simple, platonic kiss, something neutral, nothing to worry about... so I relaxed a bit.

Until he wanted _more_.

I gasped a bit when Antonio hold on to me just a bit firmer. I almost _choked_ when his evil (but so very _soft_) arms started to wander off, slowly sliding down my back in a teasing way. But I _really_ panicked when I felt he tried to deepen the kiss, his tongue poking between my lips, _demanding_ me to let him enter.

Oh s-shit. No. Oh no oh no oh no.

If… if I let him in like that…

Then… then…

Then I'd be completely helpless and at his mercy. I fucking didn't want to be at Antonio's mercy, dammit! So I didn't give in, not in the least. And I didn't feel bad about that. I just happened to frown a lot. Yes.

Antonio finally broke the kiss with an embarrassing loud, smacking sound.

Damn it, that was fas— I-I mean… about fucking time he did!

'Ahahahaha!~' he grinned happily, broadly, while I was almost _dying _in his arms, '…that was… that was nice, Lovi!~ That was very nice! Don't you agree?'

'F-fucking pervert…' I mumbled, eyeing him darkly.

He seemed to be surprised – naïve idiot! – and stared back with a concerned look in his eyes. '…eh? Pervert? What do you mean, Lovi?'

'Don't pretend you don't know, you asshole!' I growled menacing, even though I knew it wouldn't change the way Antonio was holding me at all, '…you know what I mean! At least y-your hands certainly knew what they were up to, dammit!'

'My hands…' He frowned in confusion.

'Yes, your hands! And you tried to… you tried to…' I bit my lower lip – again, I've done it so many times tonight already – to gather some courage to say the next part, '…y-you tried to push your fucking tongue in, y-you jerk!'

'Ah…' Antonio smiled. He nodded, guilty as charged, and then suddenly kissed my neck. W-what…

'H-hey—' I stammered right away, before Antonio placed his damn finger on my mouth once again. I shut up. He chuckled and calmly patted my back.

'Aw, easy, Lovi!~ Don't worry! That had just been a question, you know? See, I 'asked' you if you wanted me to give you a _real_ kiss, and you 'answered' me (quite clearly too) you wanted to receive a _normal_ one. And so I gave you a normal one!'

I snorted underneath his finger. 'My 'answer' didn't stop you from _trying_, though.'

'Ahahaha… it really didn't, did it?'

I hesitated for a moment, but I couldn't stop myself from shyly looking up at him. He slowly took his finger away from my lips and smiled curiously. 'Hm?...'

'…w-well, not that _I _care, but… do you want to give me a… real k-kiss?'

Antonio blushed, caught off guard. He grabbed my shoulders and friendly pushed me down into the couch some more, until I was lying down – with him on top of me. His arms and hands disappeared behind my back again and I shivered. A-a bit, just a bit.

'Yes Lovino, I'd love to give you a real one…'

'A-ah…'

'Do you _want_ me to give it to you?' His hands were tugging on my shirt now. It really made _thinking_ pretty difficult, to be honest.

'I-I don't know…' I softly said, breathing out raspy when the Spanish country kissed my cheeks.

'Oh, but I think you _do _know.'

'B-bastard…'

'Ah, please watch your language, please…'

'J-just one more k-kiss, then… But one! Only one, Spain!' I took a deep breathe and grabbed the front of his shirt – with the stupid, black ribbon – tightly, '…and don't… y-you really shouldn't…'

'I know, I know. Don't worry… I'll be good to you, yes? I'll lead.' He gave a quick peck on my forehead.

I scowled and wanted to tell him he had just used his last chance to kiss me (and what the hell, _him_ leading _me_!), but the words didn't come out. It was like somebody had exchanged my sentences with heavy panting. Something I found out the hard way when Antonio started whispering Spanish things to me, his breathing stroking my auricle, before he kissed me again.

I didn't know what else to do, so I closed my eyes. I just hoped I didn't moan too audible.

And just when it seemed to get… i-interesting, somebody slammed the front door and started to call out my name.

'Loviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I'm home! Ve!~'

FUCK!


	7. Feli's Great Interruption Skills, GO

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia **_**or**_** Antonio's **_**or **_**Lovino's ass.**

_A/n: Isn't it ironic that even though this fic is called 'This Dance', nobody has actually _**danced**_ yet? Hmm…_

_A/n2: Updating again next week…~_

**This Dance: Feli's Great Interruption Skills, GO!**

_**Lovino**_**:**

After I had heard Feliciano (who else do you know who says 've~' all the time) coming home, I immediately shot up from the couch and accidentally head butted Antonio off of me.

Which was satisfying, but also a bit unnecessary.

'O-ouch, Lovino! That hurt!' Antonio whined, drowsy because of the sudden change in atmosphere, and rubbed his head.

Of course I hit him for being a fucking loud (sexy) bastard. 'Would you shut it! I…'

The words died in my throat when I finally noticed (and _felt_, for fuck's sake) his hands were _still in my pants_. And seemed very eager to stay there, too. For a moment, I was too bewildered to do anything about it (I mean, it didn't feel that bad or anything…), but when I came to senses again - at last - I practically _screamed_. And shook the bastard like a rattle.

'C-CHIGII! G-get your hands off my ass and leave it _alone_, you fucking perv! W-what will Feliciano say when he walks in!'

'Don't mind me? Please continue?' Antonio grinned, but quickly removed his hands after receiving a dark glare from _me_, his poor, helpless victim. 'Cause that was what I was.

But I couldn't help but notice the sudden disappointed look on his face. He probably didn't want it to end like this. Well, I didn't like things had ended, either. Maybe I was even more pissed off about it than he was.

'Lovino?~ Big brother?' Feliciano again.

I gritted my teeth. No, not 'maybe'. I _certainly_ was more pissed off.

'I'm HERE, you idiot!' I shouted back, way more aggressive than I thought it would be, '…ugh, that stupid, worthless fucker…'

Antonio was silent, if only for a few seconds. Suddenly, he gently took my face in his hands and turned it towards him. 'Ah, I suppose I owe you a kiss, Lovi!~ Ahaha…' He winked at me and caressed my lips with his thumbs.

I blushed like hell. Oh God. Oh God. Oh _God_.

I hate you, Feliciano.

Just a few minutes later, me and Antonio were still sitting on the couch – but now with my wailing brother between us. Crying his fucking eyes out of his stupid pasta-head.

Feliciano had pressed his face into Antonio's shoulder and sobbed like a baby, once again making me wonder if he really was my brother. Antonio didn't mind the way 'Feli' was looking for attention (stupid, dense bastard) and patted his back soothingly.

'Ah, cheer up, Feli! Germany probably had his reasons to send you back home, right? Don't you think so?'

'Oh yes, he really had! He has one of those meeting-thingies tomorrow! Early in the morning! Very early in the morning! But I don't see why he couldn't let me stay! It's not fair, big brother Spain! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!' Feliciano's shoulders shook heavily, almost with some kind of rhythm. It annoyed the hell out of me.

I rolled my eyes and leant on one of my elbows. 'Idiot. Just ditch that potato-bastard and get a fucking life!'

'B-buuuut…' Feliciano pouted, '…I looooooove him! I love him and want to be with him and do all kinds of things with hiiiiiim!'

Antonio smiled. 'That's very nice, Feli!'

I stared at him. What the hell? That's _nice_? My little brother is a fucking pervert who bangs potatoes and this bastard thinks that's _nice_? Weird creep! I bet he's one of those bastards who like to play sex-games and stuff! Well, not with _me_! Fuck no!

'_Ah, you look so lovely with chocolate all over your body, Lovi…Ahahahaha… Let… me… clean… you… up…~'_

I blushed. Well, fuck me. That was some fantasy. I guess was a damn pervert myself, too.

I blame television.

Meanwhile, Antonio was still doing his best to comfort Feliciano, ruffling his hair and stroking his back in ways that made me feel really jealous and angry at my brother, already glaring and scowling at him, because that's what I do when I'm feeling jealous and angry.

'I'm sure Germany loves you too, Feli,' the bastard told Feliciano, '…but sometimes, even when you really love being with somebody, you have to do… something else! Because it's way more important than being with your lover!'

Antonio grinned blissfully, completely missing the downright devastated look on Feliciano's face. God, he was looking like he was going to fucking _implode_ now.

'You should be proud of yourself, you know? Right now, you're making a sacrifice for the one you love,' Antonio continued, '…and everybody does that, one way or another. _You_'re doing that by giving Germany a quiet night with lots of sleep and no sex whatsoever…' (Feliciano whimpered at that) '…and… someone _else_ I happen to know, does that by accompanying his former boss to this great ball.'

Was he talking about me? I blinked my eyes and quickly looked away from the happy smile that tomato-bastard beamed at me. Fucking asshole…

Well, the rest of the evening was pretty much ruined.

We watched some crappy movie (yes, the _same_ crappy shit movie) which happened to be a _comical_ crappy shit movie. And Antonio and Feliciano _liked_ it. They were laughing their fucking miniature _brains_ out while I was bored out of my skull and tried my best not to fall asleep and/or daydream about how soft and pleasant Antonio's skin felt against mine.

Not that I felt much of his skin against mine _right_ _now_, because of Fucking Feliciano. Damn that idiot, I couldn't even accidentally brush my hand against Antonio's when my brother was sitting between us! Fuck…

…n-not that I _wanted_ to touch Antonio. No, I didn't. I… I was just curious. Yes, that's it, I was curious.

When the movie had (_finally_) come to an end and I looked next to me, I saw Feliciano had fallen asleep. Antonio seemed to think about something, since he was gazing at an invisible point in the distance without blinking his eyes for at least a couple of seconds. I noticed the frown wrinkling his forehead and almost started to snort with laughter – Antonio and _frowning_? Fucking unrealistic.

'Trying to think, huh?' I said, '…be careful not to hurt yourself, bastard.'

Antonio woke up from his weird frenzy-like gaze and looked my way, immediately smiling one of the most perfect smiles that would ever _exist_ on this planet when his eyes met mine. My heart skipped a beat and my cheeks were burning as if somebody set them on fire, once again.

Damn it, that son of a bitch didn't even have to _try_ anymore to win from my rants, a goddamn _smile_ of his was enough to turn my stomach upside down and make my nose bleed!

'Lovi?~' he asked, suddenly.

'W-what!'

I growled and folded my arms. Antonio hesitated, but then pointed to Feliciano, who was sleeping in the couch, all stretched and happily snoring and drooling like a moron. I swear I could hear him utter a quiet 'Ve~' every now and then.

'Um… I was wondering… what are you going to do with Feli here?' The Spanish bastard poked Feliciano's arm.

'Nothing.' I shrugged. '…just leave him on the couch. That way he'll be faster at potato-bastard's place tomorrow, 'cause that's the first thing he'll want to be when he wakes up. Annoying bastard.'

'Ahahaha… you really sound like a big brother, Lovi! So cute!~'

'Shut the fuck up. And where are you planning to spend the night, hm?'

'Here!~' Antonio smiled even more, '…I thought I could stay over at your and Feli's place! I figured it would be very cozy that way!'

I groaned. 'Yeah, I bet you'd like that, you pervert.'

'So… can I?' He stared at me, eyes full of hope and stupidity.

'Y-you can stay at our guest room,' I muttered, maybe stuttering a bit, '…y-you stay the hell out of my _or_ Feliciano's room, you hear!'

Antonio chuckled and raised from the couch. 'Ah, of course I'll sleep at the guest room! But only if you promise me to come with me to my House tomorrow. I've got a new dance room, you see? We'll be able to practice some dance moves! What do you say?'

'Y-yeah, fine with me…' I grumbled, covering my younger brother with a blanket (alright, I just _threw_ one in his face) before I followed Antonio out of the living room and shut off the lights.

And I didn't feel a sexual tension at all. Nope, I sure didn't feel it.

Really.


	8. Make Me Feel

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Because if I did, Spain and Romano would be happily married and have at least 6 kids.**

_A/n: Nope, still no dancing. But soon there will be, I promise!~ Maybe next week?_

_A/n2: Both Lovi and 'Tonio are talking from their POV in this chapter. Now, isn't that nice? Yay!_

**This Dance: Make Me Feel**

_**Lovino**_**:**

When Antonio and I went upstairs, the tense, strange, very uncomfortable atmosphere felt like it was about to completely _swallow_ me up. It wasn't a good thing but it certainly wasn't a bad thing, either… it just felt plain _weird_. I mean, I didn't know if I liked to be swallowed by this tension. It scared me. It was just so… _unknown_, so unfamiliar…

…and yet, I was curious. Scared? Hell yes, but also curious and strangely hungry for _more_ of it. What the hell? Why did I want more of something fucked up like this stupid atmosphere of death! Had Feliciano's stupidity rubbed off onto me or something? Shit!

Anyway, when we arrived upstairs, I noticed Antonio's cheeks had turned surprisingly red. It seemed like even that dense bastard had sensed the tension around us. Well, his _body _had, at least. As for Antonio himself…

'Whew, is it warm in here or _what_! Open up some windows, Lovi! Ahahahaha!~'

…yeah. Not so much of a winner when it was about atmospheres and such.

'You stay the fuck away from the fucking windows, you fucked up bastard!' I snapped at him, when he walked briskly towards one of the window.

He pouted, but immediately obeyed and came back to me. 'Aw, Lovi. I wish you didn't like the F-word so much, really.'

'I fucking do _not_ like the fucking F-word, fucker!'

'Oh. Then it's alright!'

'Fuck you!'

We walked further.

**--**

After wandering around the corridor for a while, I finally held still in front of one of mine and Feliciano's guestrooms and coughed.

'Here's the guestroom.'

'Ah, okay…' Antonio nodded.

'There's a bed in there.' I added.

He smiled. 'Wow, that sure is convenient!'

'Perky bastard.' I glanced at him and then quickly turned away from Antonio, ready to run away from him like a freaking psycho for no clear reason at all, '…w-well, if that's all you've got to say, I'll be going—'

Suddenly, the older Nation grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, hugging me tightly after I stood face-to-face with him again. I was too dazed to push him away and so, I was only able to stammer a few words. I swore there was steam coming out of my ears when I said them.

'W-w-what the hell are you doing _now_, you son of a bitch!'

'I'm hugging you, Lovi!~'

'What the… I fucking _know _you're hugging me, dammit!' I rolled my eyes, feeling a bit pleased about how that came out, '…y-you fag, stop crushing my bones! And _why_ are you hugging me!'

'Ah, Lovi… do I have to have a reason to hug you, hmm?' He smiled _too damn passionate_ at me and stroke my hair, carefully avoiding my curly strand of hair (that's a first). I blushed, but still didn't kick him in the guts. 'Y-yes, you must have a reason to hug me! Now tell me, asshole!'

He opened his mouth as to give me an answer, but changed his mind and seemed to ponder about one thing or another, before giving me a sheepish smile.

'…well, I _thought_ my reason for hugging you was because you are cute _first_, but to be honest… although I really think you are cute (oh, you _so much_ are), I don't... _really_ know _why_ I'm hugging you. You know, when I'm with you, Lovi, I just want to… hold you, and touch you, and kiss you, and claim you in the name of Spain!'

I stared at him. _What_.

'I want to be with you! I want to be with you every day, Lovi, I want to be with you and kiss that adorable face of yours!' he rattled on and on, still holding me in his tanned arms, still caressing me as if I was something _valuable_.

It made my head spin. It almost made me nauseous, too. I mean, I knew _I_ was pretty fucked up with the strange feelings the bastard had managed to create in my heart, but I saw Antonio himself was _way_ more confused than I was. I was certain he didn't know what he was feeling for me. Hell, I didn't know what he was feeling for me, either.

What the hell did he _exactly _want from me? Did he really want to dance with me? To hold me? Kiss me? For real? Did he _really_ want to fucking _claim_ me (can't believe that jackass had said that)? As _what_, as his little brother (very unlikely, but hey, it could be), or as his… his lover? Partner? Maybe _more _than that? Was that even possible?

I froze when the Spaniard kissed me again. Multiple kisses, all on the mouth, all soft and short and warm and with some taste of unknown desperation in them. It seemed like he was looking for something he knew only I could give to him, without realizing _what_ the thing was he was looking for.

Antonio smiled again, a bit awkwardly. A new blush was slowly coloring his cheeks again.

'…Lovi,' he breathed and I tensed some more, '…I-I don't know _why_ I'm doing this, but… I just want to have you all for myself. Just you. Just the way you are.'

I didn't know what to say.

_**Antonio**_**:**

Ah… My mind was acting weird today.

I didn't know what I was doing anymore. First I was busy asking Lovino to please, please, _please_ be my dance partner for Austria's ball, and the next thing I knew, I was suddenly asking him to please, please, _please_ let me kiss him. A lot. With everything I got inside of me.

I wanted to kiss him, I wanted to kiss him until he couldn't _stand_ it anymore, kiss him until he would collapse from the lack of air, kiss him until his ahoge would form a heart-shape, kiss kiss kiss, kiss the living daylights out of him.

Yes, that would be very nice!

But was it _normal_ to think stuff like that about the person I raised up myself? About the person I once, a long, _long_ time ago, saw as my own _child_? No, it wasn't normal at all…

'…d-dammit, Spain, would you knock it off already? L-Let go of me!' Lovi all of a sudden started to struggle in my arms, growling and frowning and blushing furiously. I looked at him and noticed his lips were (also) very red and even a bit bruised – oh my, h-had I done that?

'Oh. Ah… s-sorry, Lovi… Sorry…' I let go of him reluctantly, '…I didn't hurt you, did I?'

'Hm? N-no, you idiot, y-you didn't hurt me!' He took a few steps away from me, but his brownish eyes never lost contact with my own eyes. He stared at me rather strangely. This situation was getting more and more confusing by the second, now, wasn't it?

'A-Antonio,' he suddenly started, the hesitation clear in his voice. I nodded at him blissfully, because really, Lovi rarely used my human name when he addressed me – he _did_ say other things, though. It made him very uncute when he used those...

I'm sure Lovi had seen me nod at him, but for some reason, he still didn't say anything.

'Yes, Lovi?' I finally said, patiently, after a long and uncomfortable silence, '…what's wrong, hm?'

I placed my hands onto his shoulders. He tried to ignore the affectionate gesture.

'…are you in love with me, Antonio?' he muttered softly.

Well, that was an interesting question.

I blinked once, twice, scratched the back of my head for a moment and at last shrugged, grinning an oafish grin. 'Ahahaha, Lovi, come on! If I was in love with you, I'd want to hold you! And touch you! And kiss you! And claim you in the name… of… Spain…'

Oh.

Hm? Wait a minute.

That wasn't right. I couldn't have said that.

I probably must have stared at the ground for quite some time after that, because I only snapped out of the temporary daze after Lovino began to tap his foot on the wooden floor in quiet impatience.

S-so cute, Lovi! You're so cute when you're tapping like that, ahahaha!~

But his words had made me think. That never was a good sign, really.

'I'm going to bed,' I unexpectedly announced, just like that, and quickly kissed his forehead before I practically _dove_ into the guestroom.

I knew Lovino's eyes were watching me. They were burning in my back. I felt it. They kept on staring at me with that strange kind of passion until I shut the door behind me.

I was so very confused.


	9. Breakfast

**Disclaimer: Still not owning anything of Hetalia.**

_A/n: About the dancing… yeah, any minute now…_

**This Dance: Breakfast**

_**Antonio**_**:**

Still at Lovino's guestroom. Still feeling _very _flustered.

With my back firmly pressed against the closed door, I finally decided to start breathing again. My _god_, were my cheeks just as hot as I thought they were? How odd. And was that really my heart, beating with such a frightening intensity? Now, that was unusual… I don't think this had happened to me before, now, had it?

I was feeling strange. Not sick, not unpleasant, not actually _bad_, but… strange. Really strange. I didn't like that. I wasn't used feeling this way. It was like my body was trying to warn me for something. That something was coming and that I just couldn't do _anything _about it to stop that certain thing. It was _coming_. And it _would _get me. No matter what I did, no matter where I went. That… that didn't sound good…

I didn't understand it, that growing, giddy, weird feeling inside of me, so there was really only one normal thing for me to do right now…

Ask Francis to help me!

Yes! Francis would definitely know what was happening to me! He knew almost everything! He even knew I liked wearing boxer shorts with fruit prints on them - I really wonder how he knows that! He was the wisest person I personally knew and I was so very happy to have such a goodhearted guy like him as my friend! I couldn't see why the other countries seemed to despise him so much! He was great!

…but if he _ever_ felt Lovi up again like he did last week, I was going to take my old war axe out of the shelter and _slice_ that perverted Frenchman _up_ faster than he could say '_ooh lala!~_'

Because only _I_ was allowed to feel Lovi up. Feel him up _good_.

…wait, what was I even saying?

A-anyway, I was planning to go and see Francis tomorrow morning, after breakfast. Then all of this suffocating tension would go right outside the window, like _woosh_. And then Lovi and I would communicate like normal again, without me constantly having the urge to pin him to a wall and do stuff to him which would make him _scream_. In a good way. Yeah…

I felt calmer already!~

I yawned and walked over to the lonely bed in the room, crashing down on the mattress without even caring to undress me. I sure was tired. It was like I had run a marathon or something, but that was just silly – come on, _me_, running a _marathon_? Ahahahaha! I was way too lazy to tire myself like that! And I had better things to do… like dreaming peaceful dreams.

Which I was about to do.

--

…or which I was _supposed_ to do.

The next morning, I was sitting straight up in bed, eyes open wide and bewildered. _Oh my god._

I had just woken up from a… ah… well, it sure was a very… um… _refreshing_, no…_meaningful_ dream. Yeah… that's the word. Meaningful. If I ever told Lovino what kind of 'meaningful' dream I just had, he'd _strangle_ me. He'd feed me to the fish. He'd 'take care' of me, _mafia_-style. I didn't want Lovi to 'take care' of me.

My dream had been very colorful. Clear. Satisfying. Oh my, satisfying was such a _foul_ word to say in this context… but then again, what word _wasn't_?

Images of my dream flashed through my clouded head in rapid speed, although they were still easy to comprehend. A wild blushing, heavily panting, moaning and gasping Lovino, his eyes beautiful and misty. I was there, too – of course I was. I was holding him and listened to him breathing, whispering, maybe even _crying_ _out_ my name –

…o-oh my, those images… t-they were so…

Lovi was _so going to kill me_ when he found out. I sighted and ran a hand through my hair, wondering what to do, what to do…

Maybe I had eaten a bad tomato. Or a very, _very_ good one.

'Oy, Spain!'

Suddenly, the closed door was not so much closed anymore. A frowning Lovino made his way into the room and folded his arms, eyeing me like I was some kind of weird, surrealistic piece of art. Which I sometimes liked to tell myself I was. Ahahaha…~

'H-hi, Lovi!' I greeted the younger man with some sort of cackling that had replaced my voice, '…good morning!'

His face became even more irritated, but he sounded a bit squeaky when he cleared his throat. '…n-not that I'm _worried_ about you or anything, but… are you okay? I mean, last night you were fucking loud, talking and laughing in your sleep like some kind of creep – you were keeping me awake, you bastard!'

'Oh, don't you worry, Lovi! I was only dreaming and screwing the hell out of you, that's all!~'

I didn't love life _or _my vital regions if I had the guts to say that.

So I didn't say it. I only smiled goofy. 'I… I guess I had a really nice dream, Lovi! Ahahahaha!~'

'Hmpf. Whatever. Hurry the fuck up, will you? Breakfast is waiting.' He leaned against the doorpost.

I stared at him in disbelieve and almost fell out of the bed. 'R-really? You… you've made breakfast? For _me_?'

'Wha… NO, stupid idiot!' Lovino snarled, face all turning red again, '…F-Feliciano made it before he left!'

'Ah…' Well, I shouldn't be too surprised about that. I left the bed and walked over to the smaller Italian, sighting disappointed. '…_of course_ Feli has made it…' Lovino looked at me for a moment, blushed and turned his face away from me, muttering something I didn't quite catch.

'What did you say, Lovi?~' I chirped immediately, poking his puffed cheek – so _cute cute cute_…

He seemed annoyed and wiped my hand off of his face. 'I-I _said_, it's just the two of us today, bastard!'

'…is it?' I asked, kind of stupid, really, because, yeah, when Feli wasn't around… it really _was _just the two of us. Ah. That was…

'Does this mean I can kiss you for real now?' I blurted out.

Lovino's face was disturbingly red now. Oh my, hopefully he didn't explode!

'Wh-what the… NO! You sick pervert, stay away from me, dammit!' he stammered and bolted out of the room, still talking and blabbering. '…wh-what the hell are you _thinking_! Shit!'

'Ah… I don't think you want to know, Lovi…' I said quietly, before I followed him out of the guestroom – I was fully dressed, anyway.

See? Sleeping with clothes on can be very convenient! Ahahaha!~

--

Finally, after I had changed myself into some new clothes (mean Lovi made me do it, he said he'd throw me out of his House if I dared to wear the same 'smelly fucking clothes' as yesterday: 'You're in Italy now! Wear the same clothes longer than a day and you'll _die_!'), I joined Lovino in the garden. We were having breakfast outside! How lovely!

During breakfast, I told my attractive Lovino what I was planning to do for the day.

'When I'm done eating, Lovi, I'm going to see Francis! I've got to ask him something important. And when I come back, we'll go dancing! You and I!' I took a bite from the freshly baked bread in my hands. It tasted delicious! Wow, Gilbert was right, Feli _was_ a whore in the kitchen!

…I _really_ hope _that_ was what he meant, by the way.

Lovino stared at me with a sour look on his face. 'The hell? You're going to that wino-bastard France? What do you want to know from that rapist! Another perverted way to clean the bathroom – _naked_ – or another perverted way to…' Lovi shuddered, '…take care of your '_rose_'?'

'What's wrong with that, my bathroom hasn't been _this_ clean in years!~' I smiled, '…and as for my 'rose', I can assure you that—'

'Oh, you _must stop talking_.'

'But you're wrong, I want to ask Francis something else, Lovi!' I continued, placing a hand over my chest, '…I want to ask him something about something I've been feeling – right _here._'

Lovino's piece of bread kept hovering in the air now, shaking in his unsteady hands.

I ate the last part of my bread, still smiling friendly. 'And you know what the strangest thing is? I always feel this way when I'm around _you_, Lovino!'

'Y-you bastard, wh-what the fuck are you talking about…' He looked away from me again, staring at his plate.

'You know, that's the thing! I simply don't know what I'm talking about! I only know that it's weird and I want to know more of it.'

Lovino swallowed.

I had finished eating by now and rose from my chair, gently sliding it back to the table. 'So, if you don't mind, I'll be going. Ah, but I won't be away for too long! I guess I'll meet you at my House later today, then!'

'Whatever…' Lovino still stared at the plate. That had to be one pretty darn special plate. I really wanted to be that plate.

And I wanted something _else_, before I left. And currently, I felt bold enough to try and ask it.

'Well… since I'm going to be away from you for a little while, I'd like to say goodbye to you in a Spanish, _passionate_ kind of way, Lovino.' I took a breath and approached my favorite Italian.

'…h-huh?'

I stopped next to Lovino's seat and bended towards him, my arms resting on my back, my lips slightly puckered.

'Kiss me, Lovi.'


	10. The Delay

**Disclaimer: I OWN HETALIA! No, just kidding.**

_A/n: Man, I planned to have Francis show up in this chapter, but instead, I only got a very corny and clichéd chapter of Lovi and Tonio kissing and beating around the bush… ugh. Now you know why this chapter's called 'The Delay'. OTL_

_A/n 2: But next chapter will be told from the wonderful POV of our favorite Frenchman, so YAY!_

**This Dance: The Delay**

_**Antonio**_**:**

It was kind of funny, the way Lovi looked at me in pure horror. Almost like he didn't want to kiss me, ahahahaha…

But I had noticed the faint blush spreading across his face. Right now, it wasn't so faint anymore. His face was practically _glowing_. It could easily guide lost ships into save harbors.

Ah… I bet the Italian would make an adorable lighthouse… he'd sure lead _me_ into _his_ save harbor, ahahaha…

…haha… ha…

Ah.

Oh, I digressed.

'W-what?' Lovino hissed under his breath, quickly leaning away from me as far as he could – and almost tumbling off his chair in the process, '…y-you fucking bastard, I'm not going to kiss you!'

I pouted. 'No?'

'No!'

I stared at him dumbfounded, still not moving the slightest bit from my current position.

'But why not?'

'B-because I say so!'

He pushed himself further away from the table, but didn't stand up from his seat. He could have made this easier for himself, really. He could have fled out of the room a long time ago already, he could have punched me in the stomach, he could have told me to back the fuck off, but he hadn't done all those actions.

Well, sure, he had told me he wasn't going to kiss me. But that was just a hint.

Ooh. So, it was a hint?

I grinned happily and closed the weird distance between me and Lovino some more, grabbing his hands and pulling his flustered figure off of his chair. He gasped and tried to free himself, but I could be fairly strong if I wanted something.

He knew that. So he didn't struggle for long.

The moment I felt he was giving in, I pulled him against me and sighted.

'Ah, why didn't you tell me earlier, Lovi!~'

'D-d-didn't tell you _what_, you asshole!' he stammered. I didn't feel like answering him and only smiled. Lovino shivered a bit when I softly moved his face up with a free hand, just to be able to look him in his quiet, awaiting eyes.

So cute, so very cute…

I flushed and cupped his face. 'Ah, well… you should have told me if you wanted _me_ to kiss _you_ rather than the other way around, Lovi…'

'T-the _hell_? I don't remember saying that!' he sputtered, not breaking away from my gaze.

'You didn't say it…' I caressed his cheeks with my thumbs, carefully, gently, '…that's why I'm saying you _should_ have said it.'

Lovino opened his eyes wide and I saw he wanted to open that wonderful, but also very _destructive_ yap of his, so before he could say anything, I quickly pressed my lips on his.

All forms of protest were suddenly halted. I watched his frowning and shocked face slowly melting into a softer expression, his eyes first half-lidded, then completely shut. I could have followed his example and close my eyes, too, but Lovi's face, all red and shy, was too beautiful.

I didn't want to miss a thing of it.

I wanted to see him enjoy it. And he seemed to do, so _much_. I mean, he was gripping the front of my shirt really tightly, squeezing the fabric, keeping me close. I felt, rather than heard, his moaning. I felt him answering me with some kind of hopeful hesitation. I felt the heat that came off his face. I felt the longing, the fear, the unknown.

And it felt nice.

As much as I wanted to deepen the kiss, I decided not to take this any further: Lovi's heartbeat was bouncing rapidly and painfully hard against my chest and it made me worried. The fact that he was breathing in short, quick, squeaky puffs didn't make it any healthier. My God, I'd _kill_ him if I had the nerve to invade his (no doubt warm, tasty) mouth!

So after a while, I just broke off the kiss and looked at him lovingly while he was trying to recover his breath.

'F-fucking son of a… h-how dare you, kissing me like t-that, so early in the morning…' he growled darkly, pushing me away and avoiding my eyes.

I shrugged. 'I don't know, I thought it would be nice.'

'Bastard…'

'But you liked it, right?'

Lovino winced at that, was quiet for a moment and then started to fidget, plucking his shirt like there was some tomato sauce on it that wouldn't come off.

'…I don't know. Idiot.'

'Ah, how harsh…' I friendly patted his head, my hand _maybe _getting a bit too close to his cute little 'PULL ME, PULL ME HARD' -shouting hair curl, '…don't lie to me, Lovi. I think you liked it.'

'S-shut up.'

He didn't try to prevent me or my hand from 'accidentally' brushing his strand of hair, though. My, Lovi must have been in one of his rare good moods.

Well, I know to take an opportunity when I see one!

'You know what else I think?' I softly muttered, stroking his face again and delighted to see his willing gaze.

Lovino slowly shook his head.

I took a deep breath. 'I think… I think…'

He stared at me expectantly. 'Yes?...'

'I think you're kind of a sissy, Lovi!~' I chuckled.

'…what?'

I _really _should have realized I said something strange when Lovino's face fell and his usual scowl came back with full force and I _really _should have done something to save the sweet atmosphere from falling apart, but… well, I _didn't_.

'Look at you, all blushy and flushy!' I tittered, poking his hot cheeks, '…and I didn't even kiss you for real yet! Ahahahahaha!'

'What?' Lovino repeated, getting angry.

'Really, I don't know if I should ever kiss you deeply – I don't think you can handle it! Ahahaha… I mean, sure, if the kisses I gave to you were your first ones _ever_, I could understand, but…'

I stopped talking when I noticed Lovi's alarmed and ashamed expression.

Oh. _Oh_.

'…Lovi? Ah… are they… don't tell me I…'

He gritted his teeth. 'F-fuck you, b-bastard! Piss off!'

He turned around and bolted out of the room, cursing and shouting words at me he must have made up right on that moment – they were very confusing and nasty and made me squeeze my legs together tightly. Some of them even made me shrink a bit, what also could have been a side-effect of the disappointed tone of Lovino's voice.

Something told me I screwed up big time. Something also told me I should kick myself really, _really_ hard in the nuts. Too bad I wasn't bendy like that. Aww.

That's it. I've had enough of this situation. It was surprisingly tiresome.

I was going to Francis _right now_, before any more of these… these strange happenings could take place. I sure didn't want Lovi to be mad at me anymore, so… it was important I didn't give him any more reasons to be mad at me. I could do that. Of course I could.

Oh! Maybe he wanted to come along with me to Francis!~

'I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL!' came down from upstairs when I asked.

I grimaced nervously.

…or maybe I should just go. Ahahahaha…


	11. Monogamy? What's Monogamy?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalialalalalalalala. Lalalala.**

_A/n: My GOD, this chapter is LONG! DDDD:_

_A/n2: And next week, there WILL! BE! ACTUAL! DANCING!_

**This Dance: Monogamy? What's Monogamy?**

_**Francis**_**:**

Ah…

Another beautiful day for sitting in the garden, drinking wine and thinking delightful perverted thoughts, before I was going to rape either a willing Canada, or a not-so-willing-but-secretly-very-willing England, to feast my wonderful yet awful fetishes on them. Or maybe I could just grab the both of them, while I was at it. I wasn't picky.

I put down my glass of wine on the adorable little white, small table and sighted, flipping my hair back just because I could. Now, this was the _life_. Just me, me, me, me, me and my best friend, me, relaxing in the warm, loving sunlight of that friendly little star called… the sun. Could it get any better than this? Hohoho…

I only hoped my maid Marie made haste with that sun block. My… _flowers _felt quite hot.

And, speaking of the devil, there she was, carefully approaching me while swooping around a big hammer with relative ease. I guess she still hadn't forgiven me yet for humping her yesterday. Ah well…

'Marie! My love, my dear, my hammer wielding bunny! What can I do for you!' I greeted her and jumped from my chair, showing her my… _happiness_, '…I'll do anything to steal a smile from you!~'

Marie turned a bit pale. 'Put some clothes on then!'

'No!~'

'But you _have _to! You have a visitor, _monsieur _France!' she insisted, still clutching the hammer close.

'Ho? Is that so? Who could it be?' I asked and reached for my _restraining _but still very fabulous black trousers.

Marie shuddered. 'O-one of those _horrible_, so-called _friends_ of yours!'

'Which one, the hot yet incredibly stupid one or the loud and annoying one?'

'…well, I guess his ass is kind of yummy.'

I knew enough.

'Hoho! Send in my oblivious Spanish friend! I'll be waiting – right here.'

Marie nodded and went back inside, putting the freaking big hammer on her shoulder like it wasn't twice her size at all.

I watched her leave and frowned, just a bit. Hm. Note to self: Never jump Marie, ever again.

Or get rid of that hammer.

'Toni! How nice to see you, my friend! Please, sit down and take you blouse off!' I greeted the Spanish man, who just walked into the garden, and pushed him down on one of my torturing hard garden chairs, '…tell me what drink I can get for you!~'

Antonio smiled weakly at me and sighted, undressing himself… _button by button_. Oh _yes_! I licked my lips, but was painfully aware of his distant appearance. He seemed really off. Even more than usual.

'What drink I want? Oh… I don't know, I suppose water would be good…' he said, suddenly stopping his stripping act (NOOOOOOOO), and leant on his elbows.

I stared at him in disbelieve. 'Ugh, you want _water_? You know I hate giving you water, I can't make you drunk that way!'

'Ah, I'm sorry, Francis…' Antonio said sorrowful (according to my great interpretation skills), '…it's just that… you see, I've got some problems with… with… something…'

'Great! Tell me, I love the misery of others.' I poured myself another great glass of wine and simply didn't give Antonio anything to drink at all, because he was too depressed to notice, anyway. '…so, I guess you came to ask me to help you with your Romano, am I right?'

He seemed to be surprised and nodded. 'Yes, that's right! How did you know?'

'Well, he's the only one who's able to upset you like this, _without_ having to fear for his dear life.' I sipped some wine, '…you know you're disturbingly scary whenever you get angry. How's your axe doing, hm?'

'Um… ahaha… so…' Antonio muttered, smiling uncomfortably, '…you think you can help me?'

I eyed him weary, shaking my head ever so slightly. 'Ugh. Why is it so that for _some_ reason, _everybody_ seems to think I'm one _hell_ of an advisor when it comes to (love) problems and such? I mean, isn't that pretty _weird_, especially when you realize most of the countries around me seem to _despise_ me? What in blazes makes you all think _my_ love – and normal – life is such a blast! Hello, I'm dating two countries _at the same time _here, dear people! So take this piece of advice from me, Toni: DO NOT take _any_ piece of advice from me!'

'You… _can't_ help me?' My friend's face fell. Aww.

'Well, since you're doomed to screw things up anyway, I might as well give it a try.' I smiled and folded my hand together neatly, '…alright then, what's been bothering you and that dangerous little toy of yours?'

'Everything seems to bother us since yesterday night!' Antonio started, passionately wobbling back and forth with my chair like some kind of hyperactive puppy.

I kicked him on the shin. 'Stop that. So, what happened yesterday night?'

Antonio rubbed his wounded leg and looked up thoughtfully. 'Um… well, I… I kissed him last night.'

'Wow. One whole kiss? Score.' I raised a finger and made a swirl in the air with it, '…you go, Toni, you _beast_. Hope you used some protection.'

'…it wasn't just _one_ kiss, I gave him several! And why…' He blinked while looking at me, '…why aren't you surprised?'

'Oh, do you want me to be _surprised_? Because I can act like I'm surprised, if you really want to. For Gods' sake, Antonio, it was about damn time something happened between the two of you! You know the whole of Europe has placed bets on you and Romano and when you are going to jump each other already? Com on, the sexual tension is _killing _us. Please do something about it.'

Antonio looked absolutely… flabbergasted, his green eyes open wide. 'W-what do you mean, sexual tension?'

'Don't make me smack you on the head.'

'But… so…' Antonio took a few deep, calming breaths, '…so you guys all think there's something going on between me and Lovino?'

'No.' I shook my head, sparking, _golden_ hair twirling around me.

'…ah?'

'We think there _should be_ something going on between you two. But hey, since you're a dense fool and Romano's… Romano, nothing's happening…' I smirked and leant a bit towards the Spaniard on the other side of the table, '…but well, since you _have_ kissed him a bit, it seems like you're about to upgrade your relationship with Romano! Right?'

Antonio opened his mouth to answer, then closed it, then opened it again. '…I don't think our relationship is… _upgrading_, Francis… you see, ever since I kissed him, I want more of him. More and more. I even said I wanted to claim him!'

I chuckled. 'Nice one.'

'Thank you – made it up myself!~ But anyway…' He looked down at the table, possibly wondering why he hadn't had his water yet, '…I've got these strange feelings inside of me, whenever I think about him or whenever I'm close to him… It's really weird and it makes me do silly things, like… kissing him and teasing him and such. It's driving me – and especially Lovi – crazy!'

'First things first,' I said, sitting up a bit, '…did Romano kiss you back when you kissed him?'

'Um… yes. Not right away, but eventually… yes, he did.'

'Did he…_ like_ it?'

'I don't think he disliked it... oh, and I also think I could kill him with it.'

'Hm?'

'Lovi's not really experienced…'

'Aha?'

'I think I really shouldn't have said that last bit.'

'Indeed. But you did – and that's good. I like knowing secrets, it makes blackmailing so much easier.' I smiled. I knew that if I closed my eyes right now and listened carefully, I could hear Romano, _screaming_ in pure horror. Hohoho…

'So… now I've told you all of this…' Antonio sent me a hopeful smile, '…you know what's wrong with me?'

I laughed heartily. 'Of course I know, you idiot!~ You're in love with Romano!'

He gasped. 'I… I am?'

'You are!'

'You sure?'

Ugh, dimwitted fool. I rolled my eyes. 'Is France the greatest country of all? Of course I'm sure. What, don't _you_ think you're in love with him?'

Antonio's cheeks flushed. '…w-well, it does make sense, I think… it just… never came to mind that I could be in love with him…'

Gee. I wonder why I wasn't surprised.

'…I…I should've known… Lovino also asked me if I was, but then I thought I could better talk to _you_ first…' He scratched his chin and laughed a bit, '…but… me, in _love_? Really?...'

'Yeah yeah, _really _really, oooh, how special.' I yawned, getting fed-up with the conversation. 'Toni, when you want to kiss and claim somebody _without_ wanting to leave him as fast as possible the morning after, you're _probably_ having some pretty loving feelings towards that person. Now, do you want to sleep with Romano?'

'I sleep with Romano almost all the time!~'

'Sleeping with him… ~*_France-style*~_, I mean.'

'A-ah, okay…' He got a rather dreamy smile on his face, '…I-I wouldn't mind it, ahahaha…'

'And would you still want to be with him the next day?'

Antonio looked shocked. 'Yes, of _course_!'

I nodded ceremoniously. 'Then I pronounce you, Toni, my foolish friend, Really, Utterly Stupid and In Love With a Pissed Off Little Jerk! You may now kiss the country of France.'

'Yay!' Antonio chirped, right on cue, throwing his arms in the air in a needlessly happy fashion but not showing any signs of wanting to kiss me, '…that's great! I'm so glad I finally know what's going on! Thank you so much for telling me, Francis!'

'That's quite alright.' I had stretched my arms out to him lovingly, but gave up when I noticed he _really_ wasn't going to come and _get_ some. Too bad – for him.

'Oh! Oh!' Antonio bounced off the chair and began walking around the table in peppy, nervous little rounds – which was pretty annoying, '…what do you think I should do now, Francis?'

'Personally, I think you should sleep with me.' I purred.

He stopped pacing around and gave me a dazzling smile. 'Aw, that's nice of you, Francis, but I don't feel like napping right now!'

Well, neither was I.

'I was talking about me! And Lovi!' he continued cheerfully, '…should I tell him I'm in love with him? Should I keep it a secret? You know, he's going to be my partner for Austria's ball and we're going to practice dancing when I get back at my place today, so…'

'Ah, so you're taking Romano?' I grinned, '…how nice. I'm taking England. Tonight, I mean. Oh, and for the ball, I'm taking Canada – my cute, little Matthieu was so happy when I invited him…'

'Francis, you _do _realize you'll have to make a choice between the two of them one day, right?'

'Shush. Don't say such _foul_ words in the House of Love, Toni…' I said, closing my eyes a bit, _radiating_ wisdom and beauty, '…and as for Romano, I wouldn't tell him you're in love with him yet. Go dancing with him and be _tactful,_ for once, and maybe, just maybe, you'll get _him_ to confess to _you_! Now, that sounds pretty teeth-rotting sweet, doesn't it?'

'Yes, I… think, if you say so…' The Spaniard blushed some more, '…so… so you say Lovi's in love with me, too?'

'I'm not even going to answer that.' I friendly said.

Antonio laughed enthusiastically '…then… then I should be going! I should be going to Lovino! And dance with him! And more!'

'Good for you!' I stood up from my chair and flipped open my mobile phone, '…now, piss off, I'm going to send some pervy mails to England and you really don't want to be near me when I'm doing that.'

'Okay!~ Well, anyway, thank you so much for your help! You're great!'

'Yes yes, spread the news. Oh, and Toni, if you _really_ want to thank me, you could…' I started, but when I looked up, Antonio was nowhere to be seen already. I supposed he had simply run off with the sexy speed of light like only Spanish people/countries could do (sometimes). Looks like _somebody_ wanted to eat some Italian dish tonight…~

Oh well… I shrugged and focused my attention on my phone again.

Now, where did I put Iggy's number…


	12. First Steps

**Disclaimer: I do not own a lawnmower. Oh, I don't own Hetalia, either. **

_A/n: Oh crap, I was convinced they were going to dance today, but, well… see for yourself. Ugh, so damn close… OTL_

**This Dance: First Steps**

_**Lovino**_**:**

When I arrived at the tomato bastard's stupid House, Antonio wasn't there yet. He probably was still getting molested by France, like the oblivious idiot he was. Stupid Antonio. Never noticed a thing, that weird son of a bitch…

With my hands firmly put away in the deep pockets of my jack, I grudgingly (but not _really_ grudgingly) walked over to the entrance of the bright, colorful house of that tomato-eating idiot. Antonio's House had always been one hell of a house, damn it. I always got lost in this place, even now.

Luckily enough, I remembered to go to the bathroom first _before_ visiting Spain. That's right, that stupid House wasn't going to make me pee in my pants today! Take that, you… weird, yellow/orange house!

Ha! Hahahahaha!

…ugh.

I sighted and looked around me. Wasn't there anything I could sit on until Antonio showed up? Like a bucket or a crate or… I stared at one of the windowsills for a moment or two. When I was a kid, I sat on the windowsills pretty much all the time whenever I was outside. Antonio's windowsills were kind of comfy, so yeah.

With that settled I flopped down on one of the sills and leant back. The weather was really good today. The sun was shining like it only ever shines in Spain: warm, nice, caressing. It reminded me of a certain stupid bastard's smile, but I pushed the thought away quickly.

Stupid Antonio. I gripped the sides of the windowsill a bit too forceful, hurting my hand in the progress.

F-first he kisses me like that, all (can't believe I'm actually saying this) lovingly and possessively, and then he goes _laughing at me_ because I… happened to be not as… hum, well… _experienced_ as he is. Okay, so I hadn't kissed anyone before! S-so what! I'm not like my brother, I actually _wait_ and think before I act! I don't fucking go _glomp_ people around me like some horny bastard!

I bit my lower lip. I wondered if _Antonio_ was one of those bastards. He probably was. He was a very touchy-feely person. He'd even glomp that crazy-assed bitch_ Russia _if he'd want to.

Not that I cared. Of course not…

Man, that sun sure was bright, shining in my face like that. I closed my eyes and sat upright some more. Might as well try to get some tan while waiting for that useless Antonio.

Suddenly, a cooling shadow fell over me – I noticed it when the red and pinkish colors behind my eyelids turned somewhat darker. I wrinkled my forehead and opened my eyes. Who the hell was—'

'Lovi!~'

Two big, intense green eyes were looking at me in silent admiration and I immediately recognized them as Antonio's. Because… well, his eyes were the _only_ ones which were able to stare at me like that.

I-it was nice. But I wasn't going to tell that tomato freak it was. Fucking bastard.

Antonio laughed, his eyes slightly closed when he did so. 'Ah, Lovino, I'm so glad to see you! I didn't know you'd already be here!'

'Hmpf…' I let myself slide off the windowsill and folded my arms like some moody, pissed-off girl, '…well, I am. Show some fucking appreciation, idiot.'

'I just did!~' he smiled.

'…oh. Well, good.' I turned my head slightly away from him.

I heard him chuckle. 'You look nice, Lovi.'

My face felt really hot, all of a sudden. There was something wrong with the way he said that.

'Stupid. It's only some fucking black shirt and some fucking black pants. Nothing special.'

'I think you're very handsome.'

My heart fluttered in my chest. 'S-shut up.'

'Well!' Antonio said, suddenly cheerful, '…are you ready to go inside?'

He walked to his front door and opened it. Then he turned to face me and made a refined bow, not losing the bit of my attention he had managed to capture again. He smiled. 'After you, Lovi!~'

For a moment, I was stunned and stared at his bent and graceful figure, trying not to focus on my shaky legs. 'S-stupid jerk, what the fuck! I'm not some _girl_ or anything! S-shit!'

'Ah, but you _are_ Lovino Vargas, Lovi!~ And that's pretty much the same!' he explained.

I grumbled. 'Fucking bastard, are you saying I'm just like a girl, you–'

'Lovino.' Antonio looked at me and smiled again, sweet and hopeful, '…after _you_, Lovino. Please.'

His friendly glance made the menacing words die on my tongue. I swallowed and my throat felt dry. Shit. Fuck. Crazy-assed weirdo, making me feel like this with only his eyes and stupid words…

'A-alright then…' I muttered and stormed inside of the building. I tried to convince myself I really hadn't seen the look on Antonio's face when I passed him, but I did.

The fucker _blushed_.

W-what the hell?

After we both had entered his House, Antonio grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his stupid dance room, talking way too fast and peppy while he did so.

'Look Lovi! Look! This is my wonderful dance room! Isn't she a beauty? Don't you think so too, Lovi?'

I jerked my hand out of his and huffed, carefully observing the immense space around us. There was a shining, wooden floor behind us, obviously brand-new, and a high, _disturbingly_ high ceiling. The walls were covered in ornaments of Spain (how surprising) and mirrors. A lot of mirrors, most of them almost reaching the top of the friggin' high ceiling. The bright rays of the sun were coming through a couple of big windows, making the whole room lit up like an elegant, magical and maybe even _romantic_ place.

'Well?' Antonio suddenly locked his eyes with mine, '…what do you think? Wonderful, right?'

Caught off guard, I took a few steps back. '…I-I guess it's not that bad. Bastard.'

'Ahahahaha!~ Thank you very much!'

He pulled me over to some lone chair on the dance floor and made me sit on it, still smiling enthusiastically. 'Right! Why don't you sit here and wait for me, okay? I'm going to put some nice clothes on and then we'll dancing!~'

Again, I nodded. 'Whatever, stupid asshole.'

He stared at me, what caused my face to change colors really quickly. There was a weird, nauseous feeling inside of my gut, something that had something to do with this whole dancing-thing as well as Antonio being here, looking at me. It was annoying, so I broke our eye contact and looked away.

'…Lovi, are you nervous?' I heard him ask.

Damn, _busted_.

'T-the hell I am!' I denied.

He laughed and softly patted my head. 'Aww, Lovi... you're so cute! But really, you don't have to be scared: it's nice! Dancing is a lot of fun, you'll see!'

I pushed his hand away and hesitated a bit, before looking up at him. 'Fuck you, bastard! Weren't you going to get dressed?'

'Ah! You're right – I'll go right this instant! Back in a flash, ahahaha!'

He turned around and bolted into one of the chancing-rooms, leaving me with the urge to run away really, really fast, away from Spain, away from him, away from everything that made me feel like this on the inside. But since I was too curious about what clothes Antonio would wear during this crap, I decided not to.

I glanced at the changing-room. Hopefully, he was going to wear something white. He looked really good in white.

Oh fuck. I groaned and let my face fall into my hands.

What the hell was I doing?

Antonio finally came out of the small cubicle and beamed an absolutely _killing_ smile at me.

'Okay!~ I'm ready, Lovi!~'

'Y-yeah…' My heart made a little jump when I noticed he indeed had put on something white. A blouse. A perfectly fitting and simple blouse, white and wonderful and _so right_ for him and the beautiful tan of his skin.

He also wore a pair of black pants.

_Tight_ pants.

Holy _shit_.

Oh God. Somebody please kill me, kill me now.

Antonio, _completely_ unaware of my ungodly and somewhat panting manner of breathing, had turned on some music (don't know how or when, was too busy staring at his _firm_, _nice_… f-floor) and the happy, lighthearted tunes of a Spanish song unknown to me filled the room. He listened to it for a couple of seconds before he nodded, content with his choice of music, and came rushing towards me.

I (still) was too dazed to protest when he grabbed my hands and pulled me close. 'Come on, Lovi!~ Let's dance!'

I wanted to say something, but I was afraid everything I'd say now wasn't going to be anything more dignified than 'jhgjakgbsdjhgsdkjhsk'.

'You hear this music, yes?' Antonio happily said, squeezing my hands lightly, '…this is perfect music for a great dance called the Jive! Ever heard of the Jive, Lovino? It's one of the most happy, lovely dances of all! I love the Jive!'

'Y-yeah, well…' I puffed my cheeks. '…I hope you realize I _can't_ dance, you idiot. I know nothing about it. What the hell is a Jive!'

Antonio chuckled and let one of his hands wander off, down to my waist. A shiver was sent down my spine when he softly rubbed his thumb over the delicate fabric of my shirt.

'Ah, don't worry, Lovi,' he almost whispered, '…I'll be glad to teach you everything you've got to know about the Jive... and dancing in general.'

'H-hmpf…' I stared at his chest, right in front of me, until I felt a hand tilting my head up. My eyes met his and I froze when he gave me a quick peck on the lips.

'So, Lovi… can I have this dance?~'

J-jhgjakgbsdjhgsdkjhsk.


	13. Ballroom VS Latin

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. But what else is new.**

_A/n: MY GOD, BEHOLD THE DANCING! _

_A/n2: I took dancing lessons for a year or two, three. It was very much fun. I trampled the toes of all my unfortunate partners, whoohoo!~_

**This Dance: Ballroom VS. Latin**

_**Lovino**_**:**

The Jive was a fucking _weird_ dance. Seriously, I've never danced a dance so damn fucked up as this one. No romance in the damn thing whatsoever – not that I _cared_, of course. Because I didn't.

So about the Jive…

The dance was all about you and your (no doubt) brain-dead dance partner, hopping and twirling around like a couple of hyperactive children on fucking _acid_ or something. The distance between the two of you would vary: sometimes you'd almost bump into the other, but there was also a possibility you'd be pretty far away from your partner while dancing. The music that would accompany you had to be happy and _shit, so damn fast_ and you'd probably felt really embarrassed if somebody you know could see you spinning around like that.

But… well, it was kind of fun to dance this dance. I-I mean, Antonio wasn't _that_ bad of a dance partner… I mean… it was pretty _obvious_ the tomato-bastard probably had danced many times before, just like I had expected him to… I mean… uh, I mean…

Oh, what the crap. He was fucking _good _at it.

And he _knew _he was.

During the Jive, he kept on smiling at me, perhaps trying to make me feel more comfortable – 'cause I was moving around kind of stiff, damn it. Ever seen _log_ dancing around? Shit, I _sucked_!

But Antonio didn't seem to care. He was very patient and careful with whatever dance move he was planning to do, always warning me right before he would make me turn or pull me close.

At some point, he tightened his pleasant – no, _annoying_ grip around my hand some more, quickly lacing our fingers together when I wasn't paying attention. Of course, when I _did _notice his warm fingers wiggling between mine, it was too late to complain about it, really. So I decided to bear with it.

Not because I liked his touch, _hell_ no. I just happened to feel... generous. Yes, generous.

'Ah, Lovi, you're doing pretty well, right?' Antonio lowered his gaze to meet mine and once again, a friendly smile was tugging on the corners of his mouth.

I did my very best to stop my stupid face from any stupid blushing. 'Ugh, what the hell are you happy about, dammit! I fucking _suck_! I must have crushed your toes a million times already - and this is only the _third_ time we're dancing the fucking Jive!'

He laughed and pushed against my hands to make me twirl around. 'I can assure you you're not that bad, Lovino. Sure, my toes are pretty much crying in _agony _now, but, well… it's worth it!~'

I frowned when I turned around and still frowned when I faced him again. 'You're fucking weird. My shoes are really heavy, you know. What the hell is worth that much pain!'

'Ah, you want to know?' The Spanish man chuckled, grabbed my hands and pushed his (_gorgeous, well-shaped_) body against mine. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me even closer, his hand with the spread fingers very content in staying like that on the lower part of my back. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't touching my ass – yet.

M-maybe… if I arched my back a bit more, his hand would slide down on my—

NO. No no no no, I wasn't thinking that, I very definitely wasn't thinking that.

'Ah Lovino, being with you like this is worth any kind of pain,' I heard Antonio say when I shyly bit the side of my lower lip, '…and we're going to dance another dance after this one, so don't you worry about me or my toes.'

'I-I'm not worried about you or your stupid toes…' I muttered.

I was feeling very hot. Crap, was his hand trying to pull up my shirt or was it trying to sneak into my pants? He couldn't do both, right? No, impossible.

But I'd like to see him try.

B…because t-then, I'd finally have a good excuse to blow off his stupid head with my brand-new Tommy gun! Yeah, that's it! Freshly stole— _received_ from my Southern 'connections'!

But, well…

He didn't try _anything_. Which was… good, I suppose. I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when his hand left my back in order to carry on dancing the Jive, though.

Shit.

Fucking dance. Fucking Antonio. _Damn_.

Just like Antonio said, we didn't only dance the Jive. There were a lot of other crazy dances he wanted to practice with me, like…

…the Quickstep, another fucking fast dance. The tomato-bastard was practically dragging me around the dance floor, his movements smooth and slick. The Quickstep was kind of upbeat, but it had some elegant, serious tones in it. And we were using the whole damn floor, unlike what we did when we danced the Jive. Our hands and arms weren't moving so much, they actually stayed on the same spot. But it didn't stop Antonio from softly touching my arm and waist whenever he saw an opportunity to do so.

We also danced the Viennese Waltz. Fucking terrible dance. According to that bastard Antonio, the Viennese Waltz was one of those dances that really made you feel dizzy and nauseous because all you ever did was _turning around and around and around and around_ like a damn merry-go-round on the loose.

'Why the fuck do you even bother teaching me this fucking shit!' I complained, panting slightly after we finished dancing the horrible waltz for the first time, '…shit, I feel like throwing up!'

Antonio nodded. 'I know, it's not one of my favorite dances, either… but this happens to be a dance that Austria is very fond of. It's likely we'll have to dance it, so…'

'Really, now. Let's kill the bastard!' I let go of Antonio and wanted to stomp off, but he laughed and flung his arms around me before I could even make a single step towards the door.

'Now now, Lovi, no need to get all murderous and stressed out, we'll do fine!~ Besides, there are many more dances that are going to be danced at Austria's ball…' The Spaniard smiled and placed his hands at the sides of my upper arms, '…so let's dance some more, shall we?'

Damn him and his beautiful green eyes. I blushed and gave a small nod. 'Y-yeah, why not…'

He laughed again, but it sounded soft and even a bit bashful this time. 'You see, I… I really love dancing with you, Lovi.'

'Hm-hm.' I was very aware of my somewhat opened mouth. What? W-why the hell didn't I close it! He might see it as a chance to kiss me silly!

N-now, I wouldn't like that. Oh no.

But he didn't see any chance at all (_again, _fucking dense bastard) and pretty soon we were _whooshing_ over the wooden floor again.

The stupid Viennese Waltz was a bitch, and so was the Foxtrot. Oh, and I didn't like that Salsa and Mambo-shit either. I hated this all so much, I even tried to kick Antonio in the nuts when he suggested a tangy Tango – because no way in friggin' _hell_ I was going to dance that erotic shit with him!

But… but why, if I was so very disgusted and horrified of dancing, why did I find myself _smiling_ every now and then?

Did I actually _like_ this? Did I enjoy following Antonio's lead? Did I _want_ to stand so close to him, just to feel the warmth of his body?

Okay, _maybe_ I was overreacting about me hating to dance. Maybe, secretly, I didn't exactly '_hated_' to dance, but only… _disliked_ doing it. No, no. I didn't know. Maybe this wasn't so bad. Maybe I was trying too hard not to like it, even when I felt I was clearly enjoying this.

Wow. That was some weird philosophical shit. Sheesh.

I felt pretty beat after a while – and really, could you fucking blame me? That Spanish bastard was unstoppable! While I was trying to keep myself from wheezing too loud, Antonio still looked like he could twist, tap and waltz his way through the whole of friggin' Europe without breaking a sweat! Fucking tiresome bastard!

He noticed I was getting tired, however, and stopped in the middle of a dance (Rumba? Cha Cha?) to look at me with quite some worry in his eyes. 'Lovi? Are you okay? You're tired, right?'

'I-I'm not tired, dammit!' I lied, just because I was stubborn like that.

But Antonio knew me pretty darn well, more than I wanted him to, and smiled knowingly. 'Okay Lovino, let's do one more dance. Okay? Just one more and then we call it a day. How about that?'

Oh _God_, yes!

I shrugged. '…hmpf, whatever.'

'It's a deal, then!' Antonio chirped and just like that, he pulled my face into his chest and wrapped my numb arms around himself.

I gulped and trembled a bit when I felt his own hands on my body, slowing tracing the curve of my sweaty back. S-shit.

Something told me the Spanish man wasn't going to make that last dance a boring one.


	14. Quick Quick Slow

**Disclaimer: It never gets boring to assure you peeps I don't own Hetalia.**

_A/n: Did you know that the anime-version of Hetalia is going to make all Spamano fans very happy? You know what I'm talking about... Boss Spain's control of Southern Italy, anyone?~_

**This Dance: Quick Quick Slow**

_**Antonio**_**:**

Ah, Lovino was shaking.

I felt it when I pressed his overheated face into my chest, I felt it when I let my hands dance over his sweaty body and I felt it even more when the same hands came dangerously close to his lower back. His cute, soft, squeezable lower back. How wonderful it would be to cup that butt. How would it feel under my touch? What would Lovi say? What would he do?

'_Y-you bastard, w-what are you thinking, touching me like that… ~blush~'_

And then I'd jump him.

Ah, no, no… I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to keep myself under control. My hands stopped approaching his butt and slowly moved back to Lovi's waist. Lovino's trembling wasn't getting any less shaky, but I heard a wheezy sigh in relief coming from his mouth.

That's right, I had to be careful. Now that I had found out I was in love with my lovely Lovi, it was very important to not scare him away from me. I had to make sure these strange and wanting feelings inside of me were mutual.

Because I… I _hoped_ Lovino felt the same way about me as I did about him. I hoped he enjoyed dancing with me and that he didn't mind me holding and leading him. And according to my own Spanish instincts, I really thought he liked me back. Why else did he agree to dance with me? And I had kissed him a lot already, without him ever pushing me away…

(Okay, maybe he tried to push me away a couple of times, but he wasn't really insistent and in the end he was very willing to comply, so…)

With my eyes still shut, I wrapped my arms around him somewhat tighter. Please, let him like me back. Please please _please_ let him like me back. It would kill me if he wouldn't like me back.

'S-Spain…' I heard Lovi stammer, his breath stroking my neck.

The pulsation of my heart increased and I was quick to lower my gaze to meet his. 'Yes, Lovi?'

I had expected to see shy, uncertain and shining green-brownish eyes, but instead, I saw a _big fat frown _and annoyance, glaring right at me.

'… just what the hell are you waiting for, you jackass! Weren't you saying something about a last dance?'

His barking tone startled me. Where did the cute stammering go?

I laughed hastily. 'A-ah, yes! I did—'

'Get on with it already!' Lovino spat, '…shit, I got more things to do!'

He was lying. I narrowed my eyes. 'Really, now? Like what?'

'W-well… not that's it any of your business, but it's my turn to… um… _cook_ this evening! Yes! I have to make some great _pizza quattro stagioni_ with lots of tomatoes and since Feliciano is a stupid fucked up homo, only _**I **_am able to create this great pizza!' Lovino grinned, really proud of that sad, obvious lie he had just produced. Lovino's lying skills were so awful, so _bad,_ that even I, of all people, could tell when he was lying.

I decided to play along with him and nodded. 'Aww, well, if that's the case, let's get started, then!'

'About time.' He snorted and wanted to make some distance between our bodies, but I simply gripped his sides and made sure he absolutely couldn't move away from me.

'Ah, where do you think you're going?~' I smiled, lightly massaging his waist.

He turned red again, placed his hands against my chest and tried to push himself away from me. '…l-let go, you bastard! There's no way we can dance like this!'

'Don't be so silly, Lovi!~' I said with a happy voice, '…of _course_ we can dance like this! We _have _to dance like this!'

He kept on pushing. 'Why!'

'Why? Well, because, you know, towards the end of a lot of balls and parties where's dancing involved, most guests have gotten tired of dancing – just like yourself!~'

'Fuck you.'

'And so, the last dance is mostly a dance where both partners are standing really close to each other, resting and enjoying each other's company. They're actually leaning on their dance partner.'

'You've just made this shit up, right?'

'Because it's kind of difficult to dance like that, all pressed together and such, the last dance is more of a… you know… slow dance.'

Lovino's eyes grew wide in shock. '_No_.'

Once again, I ignored him. 'It really is a very easy dance. There's hardly any movement in a slow dance at all and you don't have to think about certain steps, either. However, Lovi, you're not standing in the right position right now.'

'Good! Because I'm _not_ going to slow dance with you!' Lovi snarled.

'Here, let me help you…' I smiled and took Lovino's arms. Then I raised them to my shoulders and draped his arms around my neck. '…keep them there, just like this, okay?'

Lovi stared at me and opened his mouth to say something, but there weren't coming any vowels out.

'W-wh… wh…'

His arms were stiff, balancing on my shoulders kind of unstable. His face was red and his frown was slowly melting into something softer. His breathing sounded hasted and nervous and _oh so _beautiful. Ah, he was such a whirlwind of emotions, now, wasn't he?~

I patiently waited until I felt he relaxed his arms and steadied his position. He didn't want to look at me and I knew he must have said something bad when I heard him muttering under his breath, but I couldn't care less.

Because… my cute Lovi was (again) giving in to me and I _loved_ it. There weren't many people around who were able to make Lovino surrender and there were even _less_ people around who were able to make him stand so close to them. I hoped I was the only one who could hold the southern part of Italy like this without having to fear for the mafia or absurd forms of domestic violence – although I knew he would threat me with them, anyway.

After all, Lovino was Lovino.

'Well…' I finally said, slowly beginning to move, '…I'm starting, Lovi.'

'Stupid bastard. D-don't you have to put on some music first?' he quietly said, following my lead.

I chuckled. 'No.'

'Why not?'

'It's not necessary.'

'Lazy jerk.'

'And I don't want to let go of you.'

'S-shut the hell up.'

I obeyed.

We danced the last dance in a comfortable silence. None of us said anything as we slowly shuffled on the dance floor.

It was nice, really. I liked it, this pleasant atmosphere. Lovino seemed to like it too, since he hadn't complained since that last command. I heard him sighing as quietly as he could and I just knew he had to be very tired, even though he had tried to deny that.

I looked down on his exhausted figure and began to wonder if I should tell the Italian about my feelings. Now was probably a very good time – no Francis or Gilbert or Germany or Feli or _Hungary _in sight and Lovino didn't look like he was still planning to cook for him and his brother anymore…

I blushed when Lovino leant more against me and hesitantly rubbed his face into my chest. His hands were holding on to my shoulders tightly, as if he was scared to let me go. His eyes were closed. A faint blush on his cheeks was the only evidence he was still awake.

I swallowed. Oh God. He was so _cute_, he was so dangerously adorable… I wanted to kiss him. I really, really wanted to kiss him. If only I could make up an excuse to kiss him…

Wait.

'_Ah, I suppose I owe you a kiss, Lovi!~ Ahaha…'_

The night Lovi and I kissed for the first time.

The night I wanted to kiss him so much more passionate than just some cute lip-to-lip-contact.

The night Feli disturbed us before I could actually kiss Lovi much more passionate.

The night I told Lovi I owed him a _real_ kiss.

Ah?~ I smiled. I actually _had_ an excuse.


	15. Can I?

**Disclaimer: I own… hardly anything. Neither do I own Hetalia.**

_A/n: Ugh. I don't think I've ever written anything so goddamn fluffy before. It's over the top. Seriously, it'll rot your teeth. Don't read it if you can't stand mushy and FRIGGIN' CLICHÉD nonsense. You've been warned. _

**This Dance: Can I?~**

_**Antonio**_**:**

And just like that, I stopped dancing.

Instead of moving my feet, I started to move my lips and mumbled soft, soothing Spanish endearings in one of Lovi's (slightly reddening) ears. Those words, the words I was muttering to him, weren't related to anything what we were doing at all. They got nothing to do with dancing, to be perfectly honest. They were just some silly, admiring, loving, maybe even _hopeful_ strings of words, trying their best to explain the Italian what he did to me. What he _meant _to me.

I… wasn't sure Lovino understood the meaning of the things I whispered to him. Although he never was really fond of my language, I knew his Spanish vocabulary had to be quite big… But on the other hand, he was really, absolutely beaten – maybe he hadn't even listened to me in the first place.

Carefully, I looked down on him again. Lovino must have noticed I had stopped dancing by now, right? And since his blushing face wasn't showing any signs of fading away, it was safe for me to assume he had heard _every single word_ I had said to him as well. And he had _understood_ them, I just knew he had.

So, I expected him to punch me in the gut for saying weird things to him. I expected him to wiggle himself out of my grasp. Really, I had even expected him to _run for the hills_ the moment he got the chance to do so, quickly, before I would dare to make a move on him!

Because that was _exactly_ what I was planning to do. He should know that.

But he didn't shove me away and he didn't attack me in whatever possible way, he just… stayed close to me, as if he didn't mind being held…

Ah…

My face fell. That's what I _wanted _to be the reason of his unusual behavior, yes. But in truth, he probably was just too tired to smack me on the head or put up a fight. I mean, his heartbeat was still very rapid, and what other reason than an immense fatigue could make his heart race that fast?

And right on that moment, Lovino decided to look up at me.

He seemed grumpy. His hair was sticky, his lean body still sweaty and his dark eyes almost closed. His face was radiating heat – I felt hot just looking at him. His arms became a bit uncomfortable around my shoulders and the glare he gave me wasn't pretty.

But…

My God, he was absolutely _beautiful_.

'O-oi, bastard…' Lovi wrinkled his forehead even more than it already was, '…f-fuck, are you _blushing_?'

'Ah, am I?'

He nodded slowly. 'Yeah. It's… red. Your face, I mean.'

'Really?'

'Yes. It's red. I… kind of already said that, but… it is. It's… yeah…'

'Ah…' I removed my hands from his waist and very gently, very careful to keep him at ease, placed them over his burning cheeks. Then I smiled.

'…but so is _your_ adorable face, Lovi. Ah, it looks nice on you.'

I felt the throbbing pulsation of a vein in his neck was getting faster.

My smile grew softer. 'It _always_ looks nice on you, Lovino. In fact, I think your skin shouldn't ever bother going back to its original hue.' I leant closer and nuzzled his forehead.

'D-don't!' In one spastic movement, he all of a sudden clasped my wrists.

'No? Ah, but I haven't even tasted it yet. I bet your flushed face tastes just as great as it feels…' I moved my hands lower until I was cupping his overwhelmed face.

Lovino tightened his grip. 'D-don't even think about it, y-you goddamn bastard…'

I ignored his weak protests and pressed a kiss to his forehead. His skin was hotter than I thought, but still very pleasant to feel against my lips.

'Ah, you're so warm, Lovi…'

Lovino gave a weird, high-pitched groan, but didn't try to push me away. That was good! That was definitely a very good sign!

I got excited and kissed his forehead again. And again. And then I went for his cheeks, his nose and even his eyes. Soon enough I was showering his face with quick and sweet pecks – and he accepted them all. Sure, his eyes were squeezed shut and he _did_ look tense, but he accepted my attention nonetheless.

Right… well, time to take this further…

'Lovi?' I asked, after placing a last kiss close to his ear, '…I've forgotten to tell you something. It's… pretty important. I think you should know it.'

'W-what, you b-bastard…' Wow. Lovi's palms sure were damp. I could shrug his hands right off if I wanted to, but… well, I didn't want to. It was nice, being hold so tightly by my cute little Lovi…

'Spain?' He eyed me reluctantly.

I came to my senses again and grinned. 'Ah! Right, the important thing….' I coughed and put up a straight face, '…okay… Lovino, you… should realize something about the lessons just gave to you.'

Lovi frowned. 'And that is?'

'…well, they aren't free. You've got to pay for them, Lovi.'

'I have to do _what_?' he growled with an annoyed grimace, squeezing my wrists painfully tight now.

I yelped and laughed nervously. '…y-you know, it's very reasonable for me to ask for some payment…'

'No! It isn't reasonable at all, you jerk! _You_ were the one who wanted me to join you to that stupid ball! _You_ insisted to practice some stupid dances with me! Hell, you're lucky I even agreed to it! Why not count _that_ as your fucking payment, bastard!'

'Your hands… are kind of hurting me, Lovi…'

'See if I care, dickhead! Shit! You're not getting any money from me! Fucking idiot!'

I tried to free my poor hands from his iron grasp and hastily shook my head. 'Oh no, no no, I'm not talking about money here, Lovi!'

'Oh. Well…' He scowled some more and let go of my wrists, '…you're not getting any tomatoes, either!'

'I never said I wanted you to pay me in tomatoes, Lovino.'

My tone had changed again. I actually sounded pretty damn serious now. Passionate as always, of course, but in a serious way. I heard it, and, looking at Lovino's alarmed expression, so did he.

'…w-what is it that you want from me then, you freak!' he said, shuffling backwards awkwardly.

'Ah, Lovi…' I took a simple step forward, closed the pathetic distance between us – I didn't even know there actually _was_ one – and grabbed both of his clammy hands with mine.

'…you know me quite well, don't you, Lovino? So you must be aware of the fact I'm the country of passion… right?'

He tugged a bit on his hands, only to discover I, once again, wasn't planning to let go of him. 'Y-yeah, so?'

'…and I still owe you something, remember?'

The Italian blinked furiously. 'W-what… are you…'

'That's the only thing I accept as my payment, Lovi…' I brought one of his hands up to my face and brushed my lips over the delicate skin, before looking up at him, '…I want a _real_ kiss from you.'

'…a-ah…'

'And I don't care if you're going to give it to me or if I have to get it _myself_, but…' I pulled his shivering and trembling figure close to me, '…you can't escape from me now, _querido_.'

Lovino swallowed. Hard. '…s-shit, y-you're such a–'

'Ah, and I know you want it just as _badly_…' I smiled, not losing eye contact with the younger male. I slid my arms around his waist and patted his lovely bottom suggestively.

'…don't… you… Lovi…?~'

I stressed _every_ word with a light, teasing slap on his kneadable little ass, making Lovi wince _deliciously_ each time I touched him.

Ahaha.

'…you… want… it… right…?~'

Ahahahahaha. Teasing was fun!~

Lovino desperately wanted to say something, but it seemed to be really hard for him so say anything at all when I was busy groping his butt. I could understand that – of course I could.

But I got fed up with such an uncharacteristic silent Lovino pretty soon, so I gave a sharp pinch to his butt – I always wanted to do that.

Lovi shrieked and jumped. 'C-CHIGII! What the fu— Stop that!' He slapped my hands off of him.

'I asked you something, Lovi.' I reminded him friendly.

'…n-no! I don't… want it, y-you molesting creep!' he huffed, rubbing his behind, '…I-I'm not like my brother, okay? I'm not… I don't swing that way…'

Hm. Was he talking to me or himself, now? Not that it mattered – I don't think _any_ of us believed what he was mumbling, anyway.

I raised a hand to place it under his chin. 'Oh? For someone who doesn't swing that way, you certainly are willing to comply…'

'What?! I'm _so _not —'

'Shut up, Lovi.'

I pulled his surprised face closer to mine and kissed his slightly opened mouth.

Ah, I loved those stubborn lips… I leaned into the kiss and blushed when I felt Lovino was answering me almost _immediately_, wavering hands carefully taking hold of my face. His clumsy, cautious way of kissing me back made me so happy, so _unusual_ happy, happier than I had _ever_ been before, and I enjoyed every single bit of it.

It was proof that he liked me back! Right? It had to be!

I held on to him more firmly, after which he uttered a soft, blissful sigh. It sounded so right.

Ah, Lovi… now let's see how far you will let me go…


	16. Say It Already

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Blahblahblah yaddayadda yadda…**

_A/n: __**I won't be updating next week, because I'll be in Denmark!~ **__That's right, __**this Sunday**__, I'm going on a (study) trip to Denmark for about a week or so. Fear the Nordic greatness. You'll have to wait a bit longer before the next update… but I'll do my best to update again as fast as I can (and am able to)!_

**This Dance: Say It Already**

_**Lovino**_**:**

The shy kiss I pushed back onto his mouth was the last straw.

All that was left of Antonio's hesitation was thrown _right_ outside the window as he reacted instantly to my unsure lips. He held on to me tightly as he deepened the kiss, biting hard on my lower lip when I didn't open my mouth fast enough for his liking.

I yelped and probably must have tried to swear at him (fucking bastard, biting me like that, what the fuck), but I found out the hard way that swearing was pretty damn difficult when someone else's tongue is plundering your mouth ruthlessly.

I-it felt weird. His tongue encircling and touching mine with such slow, warm and sloppy licks, rubbing softly… it was really weird. It was giving me a ridiculously light feeling in the head.

Oh, and it cased me to think really fucked up shit, like imagining I _enjoyed_ every second of the kiss and believing I _loved_ the stupid Spanish idiot, loved _him so, so much_, loved him with _everything I got inside of me_, loved him so much I _couldn't stand it_…

…y-yeah…

H-he was really good at this, f-for making me think stuff like that…

Antonio was moving his arms. I felt one of his hands was running through my hair, the other one was carefully placed against my chin, tilting my head a bit so he could move his mouth against mine _just like that_.

Oh _God_.

My heart skipped a beat and before I knew it, I was standing on tiptoes, pressing my mouth even more eagerly against his.

Antonio was pleased with that. Very pleased. And he was actively making sure I got that message.

Oh God oh God oh _God._

I-I wanted to stop it, I wanted to keep myself from kissing back, from… from breathing like this, from liking everything he was doing, but…

…how could I hate all of this, when it was sending so many thrilling sparks and shivers down my spine?

N-no! I _had_ to hate it, it was making fucking _mess_ of my so-called cool posture – as far as I still got it, that is – and it didn't look like I was a heterosexual at _all_!

Antonio's fingers found my weird, curling strand of hair and gave it a little flick. I flinched, trying my best to keep a not-so manly moan from slipping out. Fucking Spanish bastard! Curse him and my haircurl of doom and despair and _I think he should just pull it. He should pull it really, really hard, give it a firm yank, and then I'd fall in love with him even more and—_

NO!

Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit! I wasn't in love with him! I couldn't be! I just couldn't be!

I felt his hand sliding up and down my back lovingly.

I shivered. Or… or _could_ I?

O-okay, calm down, calm down…

I heard a light chuckle as Antonio's mouth removed itself from my own and I opened my eyes – apparently, I had closed them at some point. The first things I saw were Antonio's eyes, happy and shiny and very, _very_ green. I wish I could give a more specific description of that bastard's eyes, but why bother trying – it was impossible to name thatbeautifu_— _I mean, _unusual_ kind of green, anyway…

'Ah, Lovi…' he finally said, his voice slightly rushed and hoarse, '…that was nice.' His hands were on my waist again. That was probably the moment I saw my arms were wrapped around his neck.

Shit!

I gulped, quickly removing them. Then I tried to lean as far away from him as I was able to, but since I was still a bit shaky, that failed epically.

He noticed, grinned and pressed a quick kiss on my cheek. 'You're so _cute_, Lovi!~ Ahaha…'

I glared viciously at him, _absolutely, shockingly _unconvincing and wanted to say something, _anything_, but the only noise that was coming out me was some panting, some growling and, I think, the sound of the rapid beating of my poor, confused heart.

'Well… you paid me – paid me _good_ – so… I guess that's it for today, right?' the Spaniard suddenly said, looking around like he was waiting for somebody to pop out of the ceiling to tell him otherwise.

That would be fucking creepy.

Anyway, I only nodded as response to his rhetorical question and frowned as if my fucking _life_ depended on it. My lips were squeezed together in a thin line, as a sad attempt to get rid of the few, wet traces of saliva in the corners of my mouth. _His_ fucking saliva. Not mine, _his_. Holy shit, I _still_ tasted that kiss.

…it didn't taste like tomatoes. It tasted a whole lot _better_ than tomatoes.

I blinked. That was just stupid, what could possibly taste better than tomatoes? D-did Antonio taste… better than… tomatoes?

Blasphemy!

'Lovino, why are you staring at me?' Antonio's absolutely _stunning_ smile almost blinded me, '…ah, you want to go for another round? You know, pay in advance for the next lessons? Do you? Do you, Lovi?'

'L-like hell I would!' I turned my flushed face away from him and cursed under my breath.

_I would. _

**XxX **

It was time to leave. We both knew it was.

So we started walking towards the doors, somewhere at the beginning of the huge room.

I… had to admit, it had been a very productive afternoon.

…goddamn it all, why did that have to sound so damn suggestive!

I cleared my throat and glanced at the older nation behind me, trying to find a topic to talk about that hadn't got anything to do with Antonio, or me, or my somewhat recognized feelings for him, in _whatever_ possible way.

'So… how many weeks left before Austria's ball?' I heard myself ask him.

He looked up. 'Hm? Oh, only two more weeks.'

'Really? Damn. That's pretty soon.'

'I guess…' He fidgeted a bit.

I ignored it and groaned. 'Stupid ball… I don't think I'll be ready for it in time, Spain.'

'Of course you will be, Lovi! I'll make sure you'll do fine during the ball.'

'Yeah, _right_.' I snorted.

'No, I _will_, Lovi. I'll take care of everything for you, if you want me to.' Antonio sounded sincere – _desperately_ sincere.

My cheeks somehow felt hotter. 'W-why the hell would you do that for me!'

'Because I love you.'

I stopped walking.

'I love you, Lovino.' he repeated.

I clenched my hands to fists and stared at the ground, speechless.

Antonio approached me from behind and carefully slid his arms around me again, pulling me close. He sighed as he nuzzled my neck affectionately.

'I… I really love you, Lovi… Why else would I kiss you like that, hm…?'

Because you're a simple-minded bastard, I wanted to say. But I didn't say anything and swallowed, leaning back into his embrace.

'You were right, Lovi…' Antonio's soft breath was tickling my face, '…last night, when you asked me if I could be in love with you… well, I actually _am_. But it's more than just _being_ in love… it's genuine _love_. Real, almost suffocating love. _That's_ what I'm feeling for you. I love you. I love you, Lovi…'

I really wished I could open that worthless mouth of mine and tell him I felt the exact same way, tell him that I loved him too, but… you see, t-there's this thing called 'pride' that's always bothering me. And 'fear', too. And let's not forget about my good friend 'insecurity'. And a hell of a lot other angsty shit.

To make a long story short, I remained _silent_.

'Lovino.' Antonio suddenly turned me around and looked at me hopefully, '…I… I'm almost sure you're in love with me, too, but please… Please _say_ it. Just once. I know how uncomfortable it has to be for you, but _please_, Lovi…'

I felt my nails were boring into the palms of my hands and I felt my body was trembling and shaking in protest, _don't, don't say it, it'll make you so damn vulnerable, you'll get hurt, _but… but he was right. I _had_ to tell him. I _had_ to.

'…yeah, I…' I took a deep breath and tried not to lose myself in the bright eyes of the Spaniard, '…I-I… love you too, dammit…'

Then I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my face into the fabric of his blouse, ashamed and embarrassed like _hell_.

'Ah…' Antonio laughed, relieved, and hugged me tightly, '…I'm glad. I'm really glad, Lovino. You've made me very happy…'

I nodded quietly.

Yeah. Likewise.

**XxX**

'Lovi?' He looked down and smiled to see my blushing face looking up at his just as well.

'…w-what, you damn bastard…' I muttered.

'Maybe you should have dinner with me. After all, it's already very late in the afternoon.' he suggested.

'Yeah, maybe… maybe I should…' I looked away and stared at his blouse. He should wear white clothes more often. He should wear white clothes every day.

'And Lovi…' Antonio stroke my hair slowly and hesitated for a moment, before continuing in a faint whisper.

'…please spend the night with me, _mi amor_.'


	17. Don't Stay Up For Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. It's getting really hard to place any witty comments here, by the way.**

_A/n: And yes, I'm back from Denmark! Great country. Very clean. Hans Christiaan Andersen 4 Life and stuff like that. But I'm glad I'm back in the Netherlands again – Denmark's an expensive country, you betcha. Sorry for the wait, anyway._

_A/n2: …I-I officially have 100 reviews… Oh, I don't know what to say! That's great! I'm so thankful for you guys – and Comprendre, thank you!~ You were the one who gave me review #100! Oh, and I'm glad you're liking my story (you sure it isn't too sappy?)!^^_

**This Dance: Don't Stay Up For Me**

_**Lovino**_**:**

So…

I knew I had agreed to have dinner at Antonio's place – I had admitted to myself it would be convenient to do so.

I _also_ knew that I had agreed to spend the night with him, even though I hadn't answered _that_ meaningful question.

Really, I hadn't. I was _certain_ I hadn't. I hadn't nodded or said yes. I hadn't smiled at him. I didn't know what to say. I was just so… new and inexperienced to all of this. New to experiencing these freed feelings inside of me, new to being with Antonio like… like _this_… It was confusing. Should I stay for the night? I was at a loss of words and couldn't answer him right away. Hell, I was even afraid I wouldn't answer him _at all_.

But…

…when he, after he had finished cleaning up the kitchen, took my hand in his and silently guided me to his bedroom, I found myself thinking that maybe, just maybe, my infatuated heart had already answered in my mind's place.

Yes. I was staying over. I was going to spend the night with him.

I wasn't sure if it was a right decision.

But I didn't give a crap if it wasn't, anyway.

**XxX**

We were at Antonio's bedroom. He had a friggin' _big_ one.

...bedroom, I mean.

With trembling fingers, a restless way of breathing that would have killed any normal human being and an abnormal red face (that was actually pretty normal when it happened to be _my _fucking face), I dialed the number of Feliciano's mobile phone.

Well, I tried to, anyway. But I kept missing the right numbers because my hands were shaking uncontrollably. Fuck, I hated my damn hands.

Antonio, who was sitting right in the middle of his huge bed, chuckled and pulled me down on his lap. Apparently, awkwardly balancing above him wasn't satisfying enough for the damn tomato-bastard; I really had to straddle him.

So I did.

I was probably blushing my friggin' _ears_ off as I felt the warmth of his upper legs connect to my body and sure, my already loosened pants weren't making things any easier for me, but weirdly enough, I was okay with _that_.

It was my damn _finger_ that wouldn't stop _moving _in all the wrong directions that made me nervous, not Antonio's teasing hands underneath my shirt.

Although it _did _feel nicely weird.

Which was a really _bad _sentence.

'Ah, just call him already, Lovi…' Antonio said, sighing, '…what's taking you so long? It's pretty late… Feli's probably wondering why you haven't come yet…'

He pressed an impatient kiss on the corner of my mouth.

I shuddered, closed my eyes and let him kiss me before giving a hoarse reply.

'N-no, he isn't, most of the time he's too busy hanging out with… with that Japanese dork and the potato-bastard to worry about me, anyway. I know him.'

I felt his lips, now slowly tracing the shape of my chin, turn upwards. '…and yet, you're still surprisingly insistent about informing him about your whereabouts.'

'Shut up. H-he just has to know he'll be home alone tonight, dammit…' I tried to dial Feliciano's number again. It seemed like I got it right this time. About time I did.

'Ah, Lovi, you're such a caring big brother…' Antonio laughed softly, nuzzled my neck and moved his hands downwards in a smooth movement, '…I like that, ahahaha…'

I was seriously wondering if he was talking about my stupid brotherly love for that useless Feliciano or about the flexible texture of my butt, but before I could think about it some more, I heard the loud, annoying voice of said brother on the other side of the line.

'_Veee~ Hello? Big brother?'_

'Y-yes, it's me.' I moved uncomfortably when Antonio started to calmly unbutton my shirt, his green eyes burning with a strange and lustful kind of passion. I hadn't seen him this concentrated in years. It… it was kind of... y-yeah…

…h-hot.

'_I was just thinking about you!' _Feliciano giggled, disturbing my cloudy thoughts, _'…hey hey, you never guess who's visiting me now!~'_

'I don't give a friggin' rat's ass about who's visiting you, idiot.' I growled. It wasn't a lie. At the moment, I couldn't care less about who or what was visiting my younger brother.

But I bet it was Germany. Fucking wurst-eating bastard.

Antonio's dangerously experienced hands tugged on my shirt until it slid off – just _a little_. I suppressed a gasp when he bit my bare shoulder, a weird, hissing noise escaping from my mouth instead. S-shit, that _hurt_!

…in a good way.

Fucking shit.

'…_big brother?' _Feliciano said, confused, _'…veee… what are you doing? Where are you, by the way? Are you visiting Big Brother Spain?'_

'Y-yes.'

Antonio mouthed a 'sorry' to me before giving the sore spot on my shoulders a forceful lick. And another one. And another one. I shivered and halfheartedly tried to push him away. Naturally, I failed.

Meanwhile, Feliciano didn't have a clue about what was going on and kept on rattling like the oblivious loser he was. _'Oh, okay!~ Veee, I'm so glad you and Spain are such good friends! Hey, when are you coming home?'_

'That's why I'm calling you, F-Feliciano…' I took a shaky but deep breath when Antonio pushed me down on the bed carefully, '…I-I won't be coming home tonight. I'm staying here. At Spain's place.'

The minute the words had left my mouth, Antonio smiled an ecstatic smile, literally _threw_ himself on top of me and hugged me. Tightly. He felt so nice, so close, so very, very close…

M-maybe a bit _too_ close – I was still on the friggin' phone! Goddammit, didn't that man have any _shame_?

I croaked out a lousy groan and placed a hand over the receiver. 'Y-you fucking piece of shit, what the hell, jumping me like that!'

'Ah, but you _said _it!~' Antonio cooed, '…you _said_ you're going to stay with me tonight! I'm so happy!'

The intensity of my blush increased. 'Y-you're an idiot!'

He just laughed and kissed me in a way that made my idiotic, love-struck heart flutter and melt at the same time. F-fucking bastard… I felt I gripped the phone in my hands more firmly. D-damn, I-I hated him for kissing me so… so _pleasantly_ and yet so _greedy _at the same time…

He was panting softly when he finally pulled away and grabbed my wrist, the wrist that was holding my phone, without looking away from me.

'Hang up.'

'W-what?' I wheezed, my mind still a bit dazed from that last kiss.

'Hang up, Lovino. You've told Feli you're staying with me, so you're done. Now, hang up, _querido_.'

For some unknown reason, I had to scowl in protest – I _always _had to – and shook my head furiously. '…n-no, you bastard, I haven't finished talking to Feliciano yet!'

The Spaniard raised an eyebrow. 'Ooh? Is that so?'

'Yes!'

'Well, not for long.'

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'

Antonio shrugged cheerfully, simply yanked the small phone out of my hand and _flung it out of the fucking window._

It disappeared into the clear blue sky outside and just a couple of seconds later I heard a weak and somewhat sad noise of something crashing down, probably on some of the rocks surrounding Spain's House.

Oh, _nice_. Just when I had finally paid off the damn thing.

I blankly stared in the direction of the opened window. Then I stared at Antonio. Then back to the window again. Then, finally, back at Antonio.

'So you've destroyed my phone.'

He smiled and leaned closer to me, his exploring, moist lips brushing mine when he answered me.

'Ah... I sure did, didn't I? Sorry…'

'Don't you "sorry" me if you don't mean it, y-you crazy bastard. You owe me a fucking phone.'

'Hm-hm…~'

'I'm serious!'

'I know you are. But Lovi, please stop worrying about trivial things like some silly phone so much. There are more… _important _things to worry about right now, you know…'

Antonio took my face in his hands and kissed me once again, deeply, slowly, exploring the inside of my mouth eagerly until _**he**_ noticed my body was going limp from lack of air since _**I **_didn't notice _**anything**_, dammit. I was too caught up with having hysterically happy feelings to notice _shit_ at that point. When he eventually pulled away, I was gasping for breath like a heavy smoker would and I was even wondering _why_.

'Y-you fucking b-bastard…' I mumbled raspy, but it didn't sound menacing at all.

The Spaniard didn't even bother reacting and focused on getting the both of us undressed as fast as possible, feeling me up every time he saw a chance to do so. Normally, I'd smash an angry fist into that fucked-up, perverted face of his and I'd scream at him to stay the hell away from me.

…well, not this time.

He could feel me up if he wanted to. He could do _anything_ to me if he wanted to. I would've let him. Heck, I'd even _help_ him.

S-shit.

If that was what love was all about, then I was royally screwed.

**XxX**

The last thing I could remember _hearing_ before being _ravished_ by everything that was Antonio, was the calm, soothing sound of his voice, telling me to relax and not to worry about anything – he'd take good care of me. I chose to believe him.

The last thing I could remember _seeing _before being _swallowed _by everything that was Antonio, were his now dark, hungry but still warm eyes, admiring me. Me. Me and only _me._

And the last thing I could remember _saying_ before being _devoured_ by everything that was Antonio, was a weak moan.

'…y-you still owe me a p-phone, bastard…'


	18. Lovi Is Love With An I At The End

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Nope, I sure don't.**

_A/n: LOL, a lot of you peeps were suggesting I should switch my T-rating to M and do some wonderful smuttastic supersmut with extra big chunks of smut in this chapter (OH YOU PERVS, YOU, GET YOUR ASSES ON THE KINK MEME, IT'S NIIICE~), but I'm afraid I've got to disappoint you – I'm keeping it T. Aww. But, y'know, maybe I'll think about it some more when this weird story is coming to its end? No promises, but you never know… Maybe I should read some more smutfics as preparation._

_(That sounded really disgusting, ahahaha…^^)_

_A/n2: God. This chapter. Really… just… GAH. Killing mushiness ahead. _

**This Dance: "Lovi" Is "Love" With An "I" At The End! **

_**Antonio**_**:**

Lovi was sleeping next to me when I woke up the next day.

I noticed him right away after I had opened my eyes sleepily. As soon as I became aware of his lovely presence, my heart jumped. It was bouncing and throbbing in my throat, painfully, _blissfully_ delighted to see him.

Lovi. Lovino. _Mi_ _querido_.

Right _there_.

My tense body shuddered and my eyes widened. I couldn't believe my eyes. I really couldn't. I had to rub my eyes twice and I even pinched my own arm a couple of times before the sharp little stings of pain made me realize that _this _actually _wasn't_ another disturbing and weird dream of me again.

I was real. He was real. _This_ was _real_.

He _really _was here. He _really_ had stayed with me the whole night. He _really_ was just as close to me as I had hoped and wished him to be many, _many_ times before. I sighed, slowly, shakily. Oh God, _yes_.

The feeling of the soft skin of his arm against mine and the feeling of small, warm puffs of air that were brushing my neck and ear as he exhaled… it was almost too much for me to bear. It was just like last night, when he had finally wrapped his shy, hesitant arms around me and let me make love to him.

Slow, but passionate. Careful, but intense. Like it's _supposed_ to be, I guess.

It was amazing. I had never held him like that before. _He_ had never held me like that before. Ah, our passionate night… it had been so wonderful, so downright _hot_… I swore that if I'd closed my eyes and listened carefully, I could still hear Lovi's pleading, demanding voice calling my name over and over again.

'…_A-Antonio… Antonio…'_

But I didn't want to close my eyes. If I closed my eyes, I wouldn't see him anymore. I would still be able to hear him stammer my name, though.

'_A-ah… Anto…nio…'_

Ah, that voice, that lovely voice… you were so very _tempting_, Lovino… so downright _beautiful_… I blushed and scooted closer to Lovi's sleeping figure.

I never disliked my human name, but the way Lovino had pronounced it and had _gasped_ while saying it, made me love my name only more and more. Lovi almost never called me Antonio. He only used my human name when he had something important to discuss with me and even _then_ he was really prone to using uncute swearing words instead. So I had to cherish every moment he took the opportunity to call me by my name – and I _did_.

Suddenly, without any reason why, my lips started to move.

'L- Lovi. You're… Ah… I… I-I'm so glad you're here…'

The wavering words were rolling out of my dry mouth clumsily and I was shocked to hear how absurdly genuine _happy_ I sounded.

Lovino made cute little groan noises and frowned ever so slightly as I leaned into his face and rubbed my face softly, carefully against his warm cheek. I couldn't suppress a sigh when I felt the familiar warmth, but I made sure it was a quiet one – I didn't want to wake Lovi up just yet. I didn't want this moment to be over. And I knew it could be over any minute, now.

Although I was fully aware of Lovi's horrible temper early in the morning (he could be so, so very violent, ahahaha...), I still wondered how the handsome Italian would react when he would wake up from his slumber and see me hugging him close… Ah, he would probably headbutt the hell out of me or call me a rapist or kick me out of the bed… _or _he'd just do all three. At the same time.

Ah, that would be a sight.

I winced while thinking of the prospective physical abuse that _surely_ would take place as soon as Lovino would wake up and stopped moving my hands up and down his back for a moment. Then I just shrugged and kissed his forehead lovingly. Ah, it didn't matter… it didn't matter at all.

For now, I was just happy to be like this.

**XxX**

I was smiling and observing Lovino's adorable sleeping face, when he suddenly opened his eyes and _stared_ at me.

Oh. Oh God.

I immediately froze up, but felt obliged to say something. So I took a deep breath.

'A-ah. Hi, Lovi…'

He stared at me some more, his face blushing a surprisingly subtle pinkish color.

'…h-hey.'

Lovi's voice sounded calm. Shy and a bit unsure as always, but _calm_

A-ah. I swallowed. I hadn't expected him to be so… so _sweet_?

It caused my heart to tremble and my face to flush. I really wanted to kiss him for being so cute, so lovable, so _damn_ kissable, but he beat me to it when he suddenly grabbed my shoulders, pulled me even closer and pressed a silent, yet firm kiss on my lips.

It felt nice – way too nice.

I enthusiastically grabbed the sides of his face and tried to kiss him back, of course, but just a second later, his mouth was already away form mine. Before I could complain about that, I felt one of his hands was carefully placed upon my own face. It seemed to be a friendly, warm gesture, but I knew better and squeezed my eyes shut in pain when the Italian gave a mean pinch to my cheek. Boy, Lovino sure had sharp nails.

He sighed softly. 'F-fucking bastard.'

'Ah, I love you too, Lovi!' I smiled happily and managed to ignore the second violation he did to my face.

He raised an eyebrow. 'Yeah? You love me? That's nice. Now wipe that smug smile of your face and tell me how I'm supposed to sit up, or dance, or move around in _general _without _screaming out in agony_, you stupid idiot.'

'Oh… are you hurt?' I asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of my head.

He scowled. 'You bet your sorry ass I am! Shit!'

'I'm sorry.'

'No, you're not.' Lovino narrowed his eyes.

I chuckled. 'Well, not _really_, no…'

'I knew it. Sadistic freak.'

I ran a hand through his soft, brown hair and Lovi blushed a bit more, leaning into my touch automatically. He liked it, he had always liked it to have his hair touched like this. Especially when… that weird, little strand of hair was touched. Ah, that curl… In other circumstances, I'd probably go for that peculiar curl of his _right away_ and I'd tug it, _hard_, over and over again, until he'd crack and throw himself at my mercy…

No, no… not so fast.

I had to keep in mind we had sex for only one (great, fantastic) night – in other words, everything was still unclear. Maybe Lovino wasn't so sure about wanting more from our relationship. Maybe he was _scared_ to want more. Maybe I had hurt him for real last night. Maybe he would never want to be with me again.

'…Spain.' Lovino looked up to me, his greenish brown eyes revealing his insecurities, waking me up from my depressing daze.

I nodded with half-closed eyes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. '…yes, Lovi?'

He shivered and cleared his throat. 'O-okay… I… w-when I told you I loved you, yesterday…'

'Yes?' I brushed some of his bangs out of his face, trying to pay no attention to my now somewhat panicking thoughts. Oh no. Was he having doubts already?

Lovi fidgeted, looking down. '…not… that I care for you _that_ much, you bastard, but… I _meant_ it, you know. So maybe I… _do _care about you that much. I-I mean... ugh, n-never mind... just... I-I love you, okay?'

My anxiety disappeared and I stopped holding my breath, a relieved sigh escaping from my lips as I hugged Lovi tightly. 'Ah, I love you too, _mi amor_…'

Lovino didn't push me away and gulped when I nuzzled his neck.

'S-so…?'

I turned to look at his face. 'Hm?'

'So… y-you love me. I love you. What does that mean?' he frowned.

'Ah, that's easy, Lovi…' I rolled on my back, pulling Lovino on top of me in the process, '…it means we're lovers!~ Right?'

His right eye twitched – I must have moved a bit too sudden. He hesitated and slowly lowered his head, until it was resting on my chest.

'…lovers, huh…'

'Be my lover, Lovi.' I heard myself say. It was more of a demand than a question, really.

Lovino smiled a little and gave a peck to my chest, after which he quickly started sulking and growling again. 'Tssk. Fine. Just stop talking for a moment and let me sleep some more, dammit.'

I smiled and obeyed.

Ah, this was going to be another great day…


	19. Random Days Before The Ball part 1

**Hetalia: not do I disclaimer own.**

_A/n: This chapter is less fluffy (I think?) than last ones. Wow. That's pretty odd. Maybe I'm getting a fever._

_A/n2: Random Days FTW! This and the next chapter are about a couple of (the last) days Antonio and Lovino are spending together before Austria's ball of DOOM. I hope you'll like them!^^ _

**This Dance: Random Days Before The Ball – part 1**

_**Antonio**_**:**

Ah, love, love… for me, love is such a simple, wonderful thing, once you've gained it!

I mean, you get to be with the one you love and the one you love will actually be _happy_ about that. You get to kiss and caress and _love_ the one you love, and that, too, will be gladly _accepted _by the special person. And _returned_. And that's… that's good! That's how it should be! Love should always be like that, nice and easy and wonderful and still arousing like _hell_ on the right moments.

_I _like to think about love like that! _I_ honestly _believe _love is like that!

But… there are also lots and lots of people around the world who, sadly enough, aren't used to being loved and admired – usually people who are extremely hesitant and insecure about giving and receiving love. Ah, believe it or not, but_ I _can imagine it must be difficult for those anxious people to realize that _all_ of the love and affection they're gaining is _really_ all theirs. Really. No strings attached.

Well, that's sort of a lie – they have to do _one_ thing in return: love their special ones back in return. That's all. And that can be harder than it seems.

Especially when you're really, _really _new to this whole 'having a romantic relationship' -kind of thing.

Like… well, Lovi.

But he was doing the best he could to adjust to this new situation (_being my cute little lover!~)_ . I knew Lovino. And I knew better than _anyone_, maybe even better than Feliciano, that Lovi was _very_ capable to love and be loved in return.

But…

…Lovi was still Lovi.

So the days that followed after our first night together, were pretty confusing, as well for Lovino as for me.

**13 Days before Austria's ball**

I felt Lovi was staring at me when I fluffed his pillow just a bit more.

He didn't say much, he was only looking at me. And frowning. And his arms were folded in front of his chest protectively. At first sight, you'd say that everything about him was practically _screaming_ at me: '_Stay the fuck away from me, you fucking molesting bastard!_''…

…except for his eyes. His eyes… they were clear, pretty and open wide, when I caught a glimpse of them. Lovino's eyes seemed to look at me with some sort of adoration, with some sort of longing and yes, even with some sort of _love_. Ah… I could tell the charming and curious Italian wanted to come closer to me, to touch me, maybe, ever so slightly… but he couldn't come closer, he just _couldn't_, because of his...

Because of his current…

…um…

…_condition_. Yes, condition.

I thought I had been very careful with Lovi (last night _was_ his first time, after all)… but since he refused to come out of bed and was sitting on a pile of pillows with a disturbingly deep, big, fat 'gonna ruin his cute face forever'-fold in his forehead, I was beginning to think that we wouldn't do much dancing today.

Oh, and that I actually hadn't been _that_ careful last night.

It made me feel pretty bad, to be honest. I didn't really dare to look him in the eyes, no matter how intense his glaring was. And of course, Lovi grew tired of that.

'Look could you just… just _stop_ fluffing the damn pillow!' he suddenly spat, snatching the big pillow out of my hands, '…quit groping the poor thing already! Damn!'

I stood there for a moment, my hands and arms still in the 'I'm fluffing a pillow now!~' -position, my eyes still fanatically avoiding his as I reacted: 'A-ah… sorry, I didn't think it was… um… _soft_ _enough_ for you.'

'Well, it _is_.' Lovi put the white pillow down in his lap and shifted a bit in bed. It was just a little movement, really, but I noticed the quick flash of pain on his face, anyway.

It made me feel uneasy and worried. 'I-it was? Oh. In that case, sorry for fluffing your pillow even more, then! Ahaha—'

'Shut up.'

'…ah, so not-cute, Lovino…'

'I said shut up!' He sighed and clutched the pillow a bit closer, turning his head away from me, '…look, I'm not made of _glass_ or anything like that, you stupid idiot. Quit treating me like I'm a weak little girl.'

I forgot my intention not to look at him and stared at his face. 'But you're hurt!'

'Of course I'm hurt! It hurts like hell, dammit! And yes, it's your entire fault, you bastard!' he snarled, pointing a somewhat trembling finger at me.

I gulped. Lovino sounded sincerely annoyed.

However, annoyed or not, his accusing finger was slowly put away again. '…b-but it's okay. Since it's… you, it's… okay.'

Lovi's grumpy, but at the same time friendly voice made me shiver in delight. I nodded slowly, carefully. I must have looked pretty calm and poised from the outside, but from the inside, I was _ecstatic _because of Lovi's words_. _And _yes_, I _was indeed_ getting tired of those silly physical reactions of mine to everything that concerned Lovino. Seriously, the constant fluttering of my heart was starting to annoy me big time - hearts shouldn't flutter!

Nevertheless, I was still stuttering when I opened my mouth.

'Y-yeah? It's okay? It is?'

'…yeah.' He blushed heavily and coughed, as if to hide his embarrassment.

S-so adorable. I smiled and relaxed some more, reaching out my hands to him to caress the both of his puffed cheeks and to remove some of his bangs out of his reddish face. 'Ah, Lovi… you're so cute!~'

'S-shit, y-you're creeping the hell out of me, you b-bastard!' He swallowed, quickly grabbed the giant, tomato-shaped pillow next to him and pushed it into my grinning face, '…i-if you've got enough time to make me feel like a stupid big sissy and molest all of the pillows untill they're feeling ridiculously soft, then fluff this pillow! It's hard!'

'Ah, of course, Lovi!' I peeled (yes, _peeled_) the enormous pillow off my face and beamed a happy smile towards my lovely lover, '…oh, and shall I make us some lunch after fluffing this?'

Lovi looked like he wanted to say 'yes', but stopped at the last minute and turned just a _little_ bit redder. He took a deep, somewhat hissing breath.

'N-no. You don't have to make lunch – yet.'

'No?' I blinked, confused, '…but what do I—'

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair nervously. 'J-just… just stay here for a minute. Or two. Or three. Or more, for all I care. Shit, your dancing around the place is giving me a headache, so please, just… stop moving.'

'Okay.'

'…s-stay with me, you got that? Don't go.' Lovi muttered, hugging the pillow in his lap closer.

I patted the red tomato-pillow and tried to prevent my smile from getting too broad.

'Okay, Lovino.'

I'd fluff all the pillows in the world for him.

**8 Days before Austria's ball**

Lovino didn't want me to tell anybody of our relationship yet – he wanted me to wait until the day after Austria's ball. He said it would be very embarrassing for him to face all of the other countries at Austria's party if they knew we had become something _more_ than just good friends.

(Well… sure, technically, he didn't exactly _tell _me in _words_ he was embarrassed about it, but since he was quick to push me away every time another country was dropping by unexpectedly, I figured out he must have still felt weird about it.)

He needed more time to get used to our new situation and I understood that perfectly. So, for Lovi, I did _nothing_ that could give our true relationship away…

…most of the time.

Well, at least I tried.

Ah, call me mean, but personally, I could never get enough of the thrilling expressions of horror and utter despair on Lovi's face when I was having him in my arms, just when somebody else was suddenly entering the dance room.

Like today!~

I was busy teaching Lovino the basics of the Paso Double and was just holding him in a _really_ suspicious pose – and I knew _he_ knew I was, because why else was he panting like that and not-minding my leg between his at all – when the door of the dance room was kicked open and Gilbert and Francis let themselves in. _Loudly_ let themselves in.

'Yo, 'Tonio!'

'_Bonjour_, Toni.'

Naturally, Lovino froze right on the spot and stared at them in shock for a little while, before shoving me away, kicking me on the shins and thunderously roaring through the whole room about what a crazy-assed, perverted bastard I was for to touching him like that. Then he glared at Francis and Gilbert – with a horrifying murderous glint in his eyes – and finally, he stomped off. He didn't look at Gilbert and Francis as he passed them and slammed the door as hard as he could as he left the room.

The albino and Frenchman looked at each other in silence and then focused on me, their eyes shining knowingly. Gilbert was the first to say something. He put his hands in his pockets and grinned, looking at the _very_ firm-closed door behind him and Francis.

'…so… I guess you and that little fucker are… _doing it, _all right.'

'Ah, hi Gilbert, Francis! Yes, we certainly are doing it just great, thank you for asking!' I blurted out happily, _completely _forgetting the promise I made to Lovi about (as he called it) _'shutting the hell up about you and me and that thing we have'_, and continued: '…but hey, what are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be practicing dancing for Austria's ball?'

Gilbert's face fell and he pointed to himself sadly. 'Naah, not needed: the awesome me wasn't invited to the ball, anyway. Can you believe it? I hate that fucking Austrian nerd and that evil Hungarian bitch!'

'Ah, and as for me, Toni,' Francis smiled, tossing his hair dramatically, '…you know very well I'm an _excellent_ dancer. I don't need any practice, for I defy beauty and elegance.'

Gilbert snorted. 'You certainly defy _something_.'

Francis ignored him and winked at me. 'Well, we didn't want to disturb you and your precious Romano – oh my, heaven forbid! – but we were bored. So amuse us.'

I smiled at my comrades weakly. '…ah, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm too busy dancing with Lovino to do anything else.'

'Yeah, _right_. I bet you'll have enough time to do _him_ if he asks for it, though.' Gilbert remarked, smirking, and he patted the small yellow bird on his head.

I laughed. 'Ahahaha, yes, you would think that, right? But sadly enough, I _can't_, because Lovi won't be able to dance afterwa…'

And _then_ it finally clicked. Oh.

Blood was slowly draining out of my face and I felt my smile change into a weird grimace. Oh God. Lovi would _kill_ me if he found out that my friends had found out…

Later that day, after Lovi had come back and _kicked_ my friends out while cussing them out (which was a very spectacular sight, since Lovi was actually pretty scared of them and normally avoided to do as much as _talk_ to them), Lovino and I were sitting on the wooden floor of the dance room without saying too much. We hadn't danced _that_ much in the end, but that wasn't on my mind - and it probably wasn't on Lovi's, either.

'They know, right?' Lovino suddenly said, looking at his knees, '…a-about us, I mean.'

'Ah… I'm afraid they do.' I nodded.

'Shit.' Lovino growled.

'I'm sorry… I didn't know they did, either…'

'And now?'

'…hm?'

'Don't "hm" me, you ass! And pay some attention! A-are they going to tell the other we're…?'

'Oh, no – they promised they wouldn't tell anybody. Good thing I can be quite convincing when I have my axe with me.'

Lovi _almost_ smiled and smacked me on the head. '…stupid.'

'So…' I scooted a bit closer to the Italian, '…you're not mad at me?'

'No. And that sucks. For some reason…' Lovino looked at me carefully, '…I can't get mad at you all that often anymore. I-I just can't. That pisses me off.'

I smiled and placed one of my hands on top of one of his, giving it a light squeeze. 'I like it.'

Lovino's face heated up, but he didn't try to free his hand. 'Bastard. W-what is this "it" you're talking about… is it that I don't get mad at you that much anymore? Do you like that?'

'Of course!' I said, '…but I'm also talking about your honesty. Ah, I always like it when you're honest about something, Lovi. It makes you very cute. And _hot_.'

Lovino frowned. '…w-what the hell?'

I gripped his hand tighter and made my other hand wander off to the inside of one of his luscious thighs. 'Ah, you heard me, Lovi… I think you're very, _very _hot when you're honest… but then again, I always find you hot.'

He shivered and his breathing became a bit hasty. '…s-shut up.'

I smirked. _'Make me_.'

And he certainly did.

We had to skip dancing again the next day.


	20. Random Days Before The Ball part 2

**Disclaimer: Hetalia doesn't own me. Okay, maybe it does.**

_A/n: Okay, be prepared for a friggin' long chapter of __**doom**__!~ My god, my fingers are killing me…_

_A/n2: Also, be prepared for some short cameos of the Netherlands (Daan) and Belgium (Femke). Don't worry, their cameos are really short. Really. _

_A/n3: AND… it's almost unbelievable, but there might be angst in this chapter! *gasp!* I know at least one person who might like that (you know who you are~), but for all of the others who might not like it… I…I'm sorry… but I felt like writing a teensy bit of angst… Tell me how I did it, okay? *hides* _

**This Dance: Random Days Before The Ball – part 2**

_**Lovino**_**:**

Whenever I saw Antonio talking and having a good time (_and being_ _friggin' handsome, that hot bastard)_ with other nations or people, there were many thoughts shooting through my head like hysterical little sparks.

Yep, lots of thoughts. Lots and lots of thoughts. It was tiresome, really. The interpretations that were fanatically roaming inside of my brain (after having witnessed Antonio rattle with another stupid idiot), were mostly something like…

_Next time that German bastard tries to speak to him again, I'll rip his potato-head off and toss it into the horrible and lava-covered goodness that is __**hell**__._

…or…

_W-what the heck is France's hand doing on Antonio's chest? What the fucking hell? Is he groping him? Oh my God, he is. Yes, that's definitely groping. Shit! Stay the fuck away from him, you snail-slurping wine-bastard! _

…or even…

_Holy shit. He should NOT be wearing those tight pants while talking. I'm sure it's considered a crime in some parts of the world. Yes, he should take them off. Take them off __**right**__**now**__. Maybe I'll help him with that and then I'll kiss him and then I'll… I'll… what the HELL am I THINKING, dammit! _

…yeah.

Sure, those kinds of thoughts popping up in my insecure (and often feverishly flushing) head weren't uncommon. However, almost every time I was looking at Antonio having a conversation, there always was _one_ thought that loyally kept crossing my mind first…

_It must be pretty damn sweet to be able to talk to others like that._

Antonio is a very warm and social nation. Friendly, nice and pleasant – that's what he is, that's what he _breathes_. His presence is always very enjoyable and even though I'd never tell him in person, I know that his great personality is one of the many things I love about him.

I also love his spirit. His smile. His eyes. The way he looks at me, touches me. The way he makes me feel about myself. Hell, I even love his dark and disturbing past and the thick scars on his body, caused by himself and others, thanks to many, many tough years of wars. Those had made him the man he was these days. A kind and loving, but also dangerously passionate man, not caring to fight for his goals with everything he got inside of him.

It was scary, but at the same time also very… w-well… _hot_, I guess…

B-but I'll never tell him! No, I'll never, _ever_ tell him! In the first place because I don't want to look like some stupid, love-sick idiot, and secondly, because he already knows, anyway. I don't have to tell him stuff he already knows, dammit…

But… Antonio wasn't always a happy-go-lucky fool. He could get depressed, too.

And yes, since we've (kind of) officially started… hm… g-going out, I've seen a gloomy Antonio on more than one occasion.

I didn't like that at all.

**5 Days before Austria's ball**

As Antonio and I walked down the street, I looked at the brand-new telephone in my hands and couldn't help smiling faintly. My new phone was a fucking _piece of art_! God, so damn _black_ and _shiny_! I absolutely loved it! I couldn't wait to rub it into Feliciano's face! He'd be so fucking jealous!

'And?' Antonio smiled and suddenly poked my side, '…you like it, yes?'

The poke almost caused me to drop the small black thing and I gasped, quickly stuffing the phone into one of my pockets while shooting an evil glare in the Spaniard's direction.

'W-what the fuck, bastard! It almost slipped out of my hands!'

Antonio shrugged and smiled even more broadly. 'Ah, sorry for that, Lovi! But I can't stop myself from poking you, you know? Ah, it's all your fault!~'

'My fault?' I stared at him in confusion and raised an eyebrow, '…what do you mean, my fault? What's my fault?'

Antonio chuckled and reached for my hand, slowly intertwining his warm, soft fingers around mine in the mere blink of an eye. I felt my face heating up instantly.

'…well, it's your fault for being so cute and adorable, looking at that phone that I gave to you like that.' he said, squeezing my hand a bit.

I turned my head away and frowned a half-assed frown, because scowling and frowning angrily while your face is on friggin' _fire _isn't a very easy thing to do.

Especially when you rather wanted to smile like a brainless moron, just because your… your s-significant other touched your stupid hand and was _still_ holding it tightly. God, I mean, what the hell was that about?

Antonio leant towards me a bit more, his lips carefully brushing the side of my face. 'I'm so glad you like it, Lovino…'

'Yeah, well… y-you owned me a phone, anyway.' I muttered grumpily, but didn't try to push him away, '…I-I might as well be happy about it. B-but don't get the wrong ideas, you telephone-killer.'

'I won't, Lovi.' He grinned and nuzzled my cheek teasingly, before giving it a sudden, quick lick.

P-perverted bastard.

'S-stop that, idiot!' I gritted my teeth, covered my flaming red cheek in embarrassment and gave the laughing nation in front of me a firm push. Yeah, that'd teach him to molest me in public, dammit! Fucking jerk!

I didn't know I had just shoved Antonio right into the arms of one of the few nations he absolutely _couldn't_ deal with, whatsoever.

The Netherlands.

Oh, and Belgium was there, too. She even waved at me.

Antonio was still smiling at first, chuckling and rubbing the back of his head and saying he was sorry for suddenly bumping into the other like that, but then he looked up.

And recognized his former colonies.

I could feel ice-cold shivers run down my spine when I noticed the cheerful glint in Antonio's eyes was rapidly changing into a cautious and downright _pissed off _one when he stared at the Dutch nation. I literally saw him changing into the jerk he used to be.

His eyes became darker. His lips a thin line. His smile was wiped away in a matter of seconds and so was the pleasant ambiance.

It was fucking _terrifying_.

There wasn't anything friendly and happy about him anymore, because he wasn't passionate and idiotic Antonio anymore.

For now, he was _Spain_.

As they stared at each other, they didn't say much, really. Spain was glaring at Netherlands and Netherlands was glaring right back at him with his usual cool and composed posture, his hands tucked away in the pockets of his jacket casually.

'_Hallo, Spanje._'

'…_Holanda_.'

His sister Belgium eyed the two silent nations worriedly before turning to look at me. She had an awkward, anxious smile on her face and mouthed 'sorry' to me, before grabbing her older brother by his sleeve and tugging him away with her.

Even when he was walking away from us, Netherlands never lost eye-contact with Spain, until Belgium pounded his chest pretty forcefully and started blabbering to him rather loudly. Still, I was happy she did, since she managed to avoid a possible discussion or even _fight_ between her brother and our former caretaker.

Soon enough, the both of them were gone.

But Spain was still having a weird look in his dull and shockingly emotionless eyes when I asked him if he was okay.

He smiled bitterly and shook his head. 'I never knew what was on his mind.'

'Spain...' I sighed and stood in front of him.

He didn't even blink. Instead, he narrowed his eyes. 'Heh. Maybe I should have known.'

'Spain.' I said again, grabbing his upper-arms.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. I felt he was shaking. 'I should have known what he was planning to do. That backstabber. _Mierda_, that ungrateful little—'

I pulled him down and pressed my lips against his.

He froze.

Good. That was good.

I closed my eyes and softly bit his lower lip. No reaction. I frowned and bit down harder. A low moan escaped from his mouth and allowed me to deepen the kiss. And I did. I pushed my tongue in and moved it against his own, desperately trying to get him to respond, to make him sigh and smile again. Because he had to, dammit. He just had to.

I felt his face was getting warmer and grabbed the sides of it, holding it in place as I kissed him thoroughly. My trembling fingers caressed his cheeks carefully, hopefully, still somewhat shy and maybe even _scared_ to do anything bolder than that.

But it turned out to be enough.

Spain's arms were slowly moving around my body. One of his hands landed on the center of my back and pulled me closer to his welcoming, comfortable chest, while the other one was placed underneath my chin and softly tilted my head up in order to return my kisses with the overwhelming passion I was hoping for. I actually was waiting for him to kiss the _hell_ out of me, to kiss me until I couldn't see straight anymore and _God_, at last he did. I let him kiss me and bite my lips and nibble at my neck and I sighed, clutching the fabric of his clothes between my hands.

Stupid bastard. A-about time you did something, dammit…

When I pulled away from him, I saw Spain had changed back into Antonio again. His face was bright red and flustered, his smile was happy and blissful. His eyes finally started to shine again – vividly, lively. I scowled and my heart skipped a beat when I looked into those eyes. S-shit. Even though his face had turned _that _kind of red already, I just knew my cheeks were redder than his. Goddamn it.

I tried to pay no attention to my throbbing lips (fucking biting basterd) and took a deep breath.

'…thanks for the phone, I guess.'

He seemed to be confused and stared at me for a moment. Then he realized something and a knowing, thankful smile appeared on his face. He grabbed one of my hands, brought it up to his lips and kissed it lovingly, all without losing sight of my face.

'Thank _you_, Lovi. For reminding me of something that matters the most.'

I stared back at him, fully aware of my burning cheeks and suddenly very, _very_ dry throat. 'W-what the hell are you—'

'Ah, I love you, you know that?' Antonio laughed and squeezed my hand again, pressing it against his chest. I sharply inhaled through my nose – damn, he was warm. His hands lazily followed the curves and bends of my fingers and knuckles as he leant forward and kissed all of that was my hand. I could only watch him do so. I was doing the best I could not to blush as much as I feared I was doing, but naturally, I was failing fucking hard.

'W-we're outside, dammit…' I finally managed to stammer, half-heartedly wrenching my hand out of his, '…so stop drooling over my hand.'

Antonio chuckled. He probably wanted to remind me of the funny fact I was the one who started making out with him _in fucking broad daylight, in the middle of the fucking street on a fucking sunny day_ in the first place… but instead of that, he nodded and obediently let go of my hand.

We started walking again.

'It's getting late, Lovi. And I'm getting hungry. What would you say if I took you to that nice little bistro I happen to know, hm?' he asked me.

'I don't know.' I said bluntly.

Antonio stopped walking and looked at my red face. The side of his mouth was curling upwards a bit.

'W-what!' I stopped walking as well and grumbled, folding my arms.

He grinned and shook his head. 'Ah, it's nothing. Just wanted to look at you.'

'Fucking creep.'

'You love it.'

'P-piss off!'

And with that, the day still came to a good end.

…dinner was delicious, by the way.

**2 Days before Austria's ball**

It was already very late in the evening – or very, very early in the morning – as I hastily walked through the enormous corridor of Antonio's House.

I cursed when my bare feet were starting to feel cold, thanks to those horrible marble tiles, and wrapped the sheets of Antonio's bed around me some more. Damn, why did that bastard had to have such a fucking big and freezing cold House! And really, did he _have_ to open _all _of his 75 windows? Shit!

I slowed down when I noticed a familiar, small side table at the end of the hallway… and the grotesque, weird white phone that was resting on it. I wrinkled my nose. When I was a small boy, still innocent and cute and constantly surrounded by pissing squirrels, that crazy-assed phone used to scare the shit out of me. Fucking Antonio and his fucked-up tastes for messed up phones. Wasn't mine and Feliciano's phone a present from him? Hmmm.

Well, anyway, the stupid phone would come in handy, for I was going to call somebody.

_Secretly_. Yes.

I reached the table and grabbed the white thing (of _evilness_) and stared at it for a while. Okay. No turning back, now. I had to do this.

I took a deep breath… and quickly dialed her number. Then I waited in silent and somewhat scared anticipation.

Okay. Okay. Now pick up the phone, you blonde ditz. Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up!

Pick up the damn phone already!

'…_who is it…_'

Somebody picked up! I carefully exhaled again and clutched the phone when I heard the sleepy female voice.

'…are you Belgium?' I asked.

Don't be her creepy brother with a high-pitched voice, don't be her brother with a high-pitched voice, don't be her brother with a high-pitched voice.

'_...yeah, I'm Belgium… I think…_'

Phew. I sighed, relieved. 'Oh. That's good.'

It was quiet on the other side of the line for a while. I could her yawn and I could _almost_ hear her scratch her head in confusion.

'…_Roma? Is that you?'_

'I… guess it is. Um… hi.'

'_Oh. Okay. Hi. Why were you calling me again?_'

'I… have to ask you something. Do you mind?'

'_Um_… _Well, not to be rude or anything, Roma, but it's kind of late. I'm tired. And I haven't spoken to you in months._'

'Oh.'

This probably could have been a pretty good moment to start doing that one thing I was best at, aside from running away: pointless ranting. But I didn't. Being rude to bastards like Antonio and Germany was a friggin' piece of cake, but Belgium was a _woman_. A woman I grew up with and even had a _crush_ on for a while. These days, she was more like some kind of sister to me, though.

We had such an odd relationship. Because of that, I wasn't able to snarl at her _or_ flirt with her. That was… awkward. I swear, talking with her was confusing as hell.

'_Ugh…_' Belgium suddenly sighed, '_...alright, I'll listen to you. But only because you're such a cutie.~'_

See? See what I mean? Fucking weird shit!

'Okay,' I started, looking around me to be sure nobody was around, '…Belgium, I was wondering… Are you and the Netherlands invited for Austria's ball?'

'_Hmm? Of course we are, silly – he almost invited the whole of Europe! Why?'_ Belgium said.

Shit. I bit the side of my lower lip.

'_Roma?_'

'No, it's nothing.'

Shit shit _shit_.

She giggled softly. '_You're such a liar, Roma. You're worried, right? Worried about what'll happen when Daan and Antonio meet at the ball, hm?~'_

Damn, she was good.

'I-I didn't say that!'

'_No, you didn't. But I'm right, yes?~_'

I imagined her catlike smile as she spoke to me. Wacky woman.

'_Listen, Roma,' _Belgium continued, '…_Antonio knows Daan will be on Austria's ball. But England will also be there – and really, I don't think Antonio will be very glad to see him, either. Or Portugal, for all that matters.'_

'What's your point?'

'_Roma, there'll be a lot of nations at Austria's ball who despise or used to despise Antonio. That's normal. Antonio wasn't always the goofy hillbilly he is now, remember? Some nations who used to be one of his colonies, like my brother, still harbor uncomfortable feelings towards him, even now. But still, you don't need to worry. The times have changed, Roma. We don't start to fight right away anymore. Antonio's fully aware he'll be meeting nations at Austria's ball he actually doesn't want to see at all, and so is Daan. But they'll be prepared for it.'_

I snorted. 'Like hell they will, dammit.'

'_Go ask Antonio if you don't believe me, Roma.'_

'Hmm.'

'… _you're sleeping with him, right?~'_

My eyes widened. 'I-I'm not—'

'_You are.'_

'G-goddammit, I'm not!'

'_Hush, Roma_. _You're a lousy liar._ _He's a lucky man to have you and that's that. I'll see you at Austria's party, okay? I'll make sure to warn Daan to stay away from Antonio, but I don't think he's planning to have a chat with him, anyway.'_

'…thanks.'

'_Don't mention it!~'_

Afterwards, when I had hung up and crawled back in Antonio's bed, I couldn't fall asleep. Not even when Antonio (bastard had woken up) sneaked his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him without even asking me where I had been. He probably knew.

But when he sleepily whispered into my ear I shouldn't worry so much and that he loved me, I found myself drifting off, anyway.


	21. Plotting And Scheming

**Disclaimer: Hetalia is niet van mij.**

**(LOL Dutch~)**

_A/n: It won't be long before I'll end this fic. Yup, looks like Austria's wonderful ball is about to begin!_

_A/n2: Another long chapter… because you guys are fabulous. Yes, you are. *gives hugs*_

**This Dance: Plotting and Scheming**

_**Lovino**_**:**

It wasn't exactly a big meal me and Antonio had just finished eating, but since we had a stupid fucking ball to go to later that night (which was rumored to have a wonderful buffet), it was more than enough for now.

And God, I just loved good _gazpacho_. Fucking delicious, especially when that smiling moron was cooking it.

With a pleased and somewhat filled stomach, I started collecting the plates, cutlery, pans, pots and other kinds of cooking utensils, took a deep breath (because it was heavy, dammit) and brought it to the kitchen. I actually managed to carry all of the stuff back to the other room with relative ease and without breaking a sweat, just because I happened to be fucking _good_ at almost everything that had got something to do with food – and _yes_, carrying lots of dirty dishes back to the kitchen had got something to do with food. So shut up.

I walked into the kitchen and was greeted with the sight of Antonio's back, standing at the kitchen sink. The Spanish nation was rolling up his sleeves as the sink filled itself with hot water and glanced over his shoulder.

Immediately, an enormous grin spread over his face when he saw me waggling around with the pile of kitchen-shit in my arms. But suddenly, realization struck him like a ray of lightning and he stared at me in total _shock_, squirting too much soap into the sink.

I frowned in dismay and put the plates down on a work unit. 'Hey, bastard! Not too much, dammit!'

'A-ah, sorry!' Antonio quickly stowed the bottle of soap away and slid some of the plates into the water. However, his eyes were still eyeing me _astonished_.

I clacked my tongue and put my hands on my hips, perhaps a bit too suggestive. 'What the hell is up with that face!'

'Lovi… it's just… you… are actually _helping_ me?' he stammered.

I blushed and puffed my cheeks. 'H-hey, don't give me that! Stupid bastard, I help you lots of times, dammit! Don't make it sound like I never do a fucking thing around the house!'

Antonio stared at me some more and smiled happily, nodding in partial agreement. 'Ah, of course you do!~'

'Watch it.' I narrowed my eyes.

He laughed some more and handed a plate to me, not noticing the foam that dripped on the orange tiles of the kitchen floor. 'Well, convince me then, Lovi! Grab a towel, _mi __querido_!'

I grumbled, but grabbed a towel anyway and hopped onto the work unit next to the kitchen sink.

Stupid manipulating bastard.

**XxX**

I was drying off a weirdly shaped pot (…the hell?) when I found out my eyes were constantly straying off to Antonio, who was washing the dishes like it was the best fucking thing to do in the whole world. I snorted. Idiot.

But idiot or not, I liked to look at him. Observing the Spaniard like this had a calming effect on my jumpy, quickly irritated nerves and… well, he was just nice to look at, to be honest. I silently hoped he thought the same thing whenever he was looking at me… but yeah, who knows what goes around in that messed-up brain of his.

'So…' I suddenly heard myself mutter to him, '…tonight's the ball, right?'

Antonio looked up at me and grinned. 'Yes! I can't wait – it'll be so much fun!~ Don't you think so?'

'Hm. If you say so.'

I put the pot down and reached for a glass, only to be grabbed by Antonio and pulled down for a kiss. His damp hands moistened my shirt and really, I wanted to struggle, but then I'd… I'd probably drop that glass… so I didn't.

When he finally let go of me, my shirt was ruined and my face was flustered and embarrassed.

Antonio smiled. 'Ahahaha… you're so cute, Lovino…'

'…y-yeah.' I quickly turned away and concentrated on drying the glass.

I still had to get used to the idea it was perfectly normal for me to just _shut up_ and accept all of the random affection-attacks of that passionate bastard. I mean, he had _always_ assaulted me with his glomps of _death_, he did that for _years_, but now, I _wasn't_ supposed to cuss him out for that. Now I was supposed to like it. A-and I _did_ like it, I liked it very much, but… damn, it was a bitch getting used to that feeling of being adored, dammit.

That reminded me. After this night, our 'secret' relationship wouldn't be so secret anymore. We were going to tell everybody at Austria's ball that Antonio and I and had become…

…become…

…l-lovers. Y-yeah…

And then the whole of Europe would know… and soon after that, America and the Asian nations would find out about us, too. Fuck, the very _idea_ creeped me out. But telling everybody was unavoidable, really – they'd notice sooner or later anyway, especially if your lover is an enthusiastic and stupid and loud idiot like Antonio. He'd never manage to keep it a secret for much longer… so we might as well just tell the other morons.

**XxX**

'Um, Lovi?'

We were almost finished doing the dishes when Antonio gave me one of his most _dazzling_ smiles while handing over another one of his white plates to me.

T-that smile. God. It was enough to make me feel fuzzy and weird and shit like that inside and I even almost fell off the fucking work unit because of that fucker's damn smile, but I tried to stay cool and nodded grumpily at him, ignoring my increasing blush and grabbing the plate he was holding in front of me.

'W-_what_, you bastard…'

'…you know I love you, right?' he asked.

I started to rub the plate softly and nodded again, too embarrassed to look at him directly. 'Y-yes, I know.'

He laughed cheerfully. 'Ah, that's good to hear… and you love me, too, right Lovi?'

'…hm-hm.' My cheeks were burning like _mad _now and I rubbed the plate fanatically, like my fucking _life_ depended on drying the stupid material as good as possible, because that was all I could do to prevent myself from looking up to see the no-doubt blissful expression on his face. W-why was he asking things like that, dammit… oh God, was he planning to fucking _jump_ me in the kitchen again? T-that horny bastard…

'..what are you scheming, you bastard?' I carefully asked, already moving away from him a bit.

He grinned stupidly, maybe even panicky, without showing any of the usual 'let's-get-rid-of-those-pants-now-shall-we?~' –signs. No no, he looked more like a kid that had done something so very _bad, _so very _evil,_ that it was hoping his mommy wouldn't find out about it by acting like an adorable little _bitch_.

Suspicious, Antonio. _Very _suspicious.

I sat upright again and scowled. 'Okay, I'll ask it one more time before kicking those annoying teeth out of your fucking mouth: what the _fuck_ are you up to?'

Antonio winced a bit at my words, but kept on smiling like the optimistic fool he was. 'Ah… um… I figured, since we love each other so much and such, you probably wouldn't mind it if I told you I asked Francis and Gilbert to gather at my place before going to Austria's ball! Which is good, because… they can show up any minute, now!~'

WHAT.

My jaw dropped and I stared at the Spaniard in horror, my left eye twitching and my other eye narrowed dangerously.

Oh no, he didn't. He couldn't have meant that. He just… just _couldn't_ have meant that. He was obviously kidding. He _knew_ I hated his friends, he _knew_ I couldn't stand them and he _knew _I was going to kick his sorry, perfect little _ass _if he wasn't lying.

And he _wasn't_.

That fucking bastard.

I managed to stay calm and leant towards Antonio some more, even smiling a bit when I looked at him.

'Oh, _really_, now? You invited them to gather here?' I asked him friendly, my voice however shaking somewhat unsteadily. Feliciano would scream in _terror_ if he saw me acting like this. Most of the nations I knew would scream in fucking terror if they saw me acting like this.

But not the country of Spain. Oh, no.

Of course, Antonio should have gulped and he should have fled for his damn _life_, but instead, he sighted in relief (in fucking _relief_, I tell you) and beamed me another smile.

That _idiot_.

'Ah? Oh… I'm so glad you don't mind it!' he said, '…for a moment there, I was scared you'd be mad at me for inviting them! Ahahahaha!~'

The smile on my face started to hurt. And twist. And turn upside down. 'Mad at you? You tell the nations I absolutely _loathe_ the most they can drop by tonight, without _my_ say-so, and you think I'd be… _mad_ at you because of that?'

That was probably the moment Antonio realized there was something wrong with the way I said that, because his stupid smile suddenly faded and his face began to turn as white as a sheet, especially when I slowly raised the hand which still held on to the plate.

'L-Lovi?' he stammered carefully, holding up his hands in defense, '…you're—'

I would never know how he was going to end that sentence, because I smashed the plate onto the hard floor of the kitchen, before he could finish it. It crashed down with a satisfying _bang_ and it send white shards flying everywhere, covering the tiles with little pieces of Spanish tableware.

Good!

'You fucking jerk,' I growled afterwards, making a cracking sound with my hands and knuckles, '…you have exactly five seconds to get the hell away from me before I'll break your spine.'

Antonio stared at the mess on his floor for a moment and pouted. 'L-Lovino, I understand you're angry, but really, do you have any idea how expensive that–'

'Make it _two_ seconds.'

The message got through and he ran away.

**Xxx**

Just an hour later, Antonio's House was being fucking _raided _by France, Prussia and France's current sextoy Canada.

They didn't even bother knocking or ringing the bell or something – hell no, they just _waltzed_ in like they always did when they were visiting Antonio. Oh, and don't you think they came in through the front door like _sane_ people do – no, that was just far too _normal _and _obvious _for them.

So, as a refreshing alternative on entering houses, they decided to come in through the backdoor of one of Antonio's friggin' confusing corridors of _doom_ and managed to scare the crap out of me by sneaking up on me while I was busy doing pretty ordinary things, like shouting and throwing tomatoes at the door Antonio was hiding behind.

Naturally, I 'chigii!'-ed a few times when France touched my shoulder and kicked him and Prussia in the face (I didn't kick Canada – Canada had got pretty much nothing to do with it) before stomping off to a safer place, ignoring the whining pleads of Antonio as I did.

I (foolishly) thought it couldn't get much worse than this, when the doorbell rang a few minutes later. I answered it and found myself standing face to face with Feliciano, Japan and _the fucking potato-bastard_ as I opened the door.

'What the hell?' I greeted them, left eye twitching again.

Feliciano grinned happily. 'Veeee… Hi, big brother! Ludwig, Kiku and I thought it would be nice to pick you and big brother Spain up before heading for Austria's place!~ Right, Ludwig?'

He had to jab the (pale-faced) German in the ribs with his elbow a few times before getting a sorrowful 'Yes' in return. And Japan also looked like he really didn't want to be here.

So really, it was only natural I smacked the door in their faces and went to hide somewhere.

Oh, _and_ to internally blame Antonio for everything that was happening to me.

Fucking Spanish bastard. I'd hate him if I didn't love him, dammit.

Of course, mere, massive doors, partly made out of friggin' _steel_, weren't enough to keep Feliciano and company from staying the hell out of the Spaniard's place. So I when I had finished hiding and dressing myself properly (it turned out to be pretty convenient to hide in a closet), I wasn't surprised one bit when I saw the three losers running around the hallway anyway.

**XxX**

When I was heading to Antonio's bedroom to ask him if he was ready to go, I noticed some unusual and disturbing sights in the process of walking around the Spanish house – sights that only made me want to leave the building even _faster_.

France was dancing around _naked_ in the living room for some reason and tried to _entice_ Canada to have 'deliciously hot sex' with him on the carpet.

Canada refused and was wondering out loud why the hell he had bothered coming along.

Prussia, who turned out to be completely drunk, was randomly hanging over an equally random couch in another room and muttered things about Austria and Hungary and about what evil beings the both of them were.

Germany was in the same room, trying to wake his brother up from his drunken unconsciousness. But he failed, because he's a bastard.

Feliciano was somewhere else, helping a nude Japan to find his tuxedo, since France had stripped the Japanese sissy when nobody was looking and put it away somewhere suspicious – and I _really_ didn't want to know _where_ he had put it away.

Looking at all of this made me feel like I was the only sane person in this house and _that_ freaked me out even more.

I unknowingly sped up my pace and in the end, I practically _raced _towards Antonio's room.

**XxX**

Antonio was just fixing his tie in front of a mirror when I stormed into the room, panting like I had just run a friggin' marathon or something.

He looked up in surprise and smiled carefully when our eyes met – apparently, he was thinking I was still mad at him. I noticed he hadn't put on the coat of his tux yet – only the black pants, white blouse and black tie.

…God. I swallowed heavily as I closed the door. He - he looked _good_. Why did he always have to look so damn _good, _dammit!

'A-ah… hello, Lovino!' Antonio said, fumbling his tie clumsily, '…um… so, how are things going, downstairs?'

'Horrible. The place is a dump, thanks to your so-called friends and the Axis Idiots.' I said, frowning uneasily. Seeing Antonio's fat, fake smile made me extremely aware of the fact that my somewhat bad behavior earlier that evening had probably caused him to smile like that.

Antonio's face fell. 'Wow. That bad, huh? Ah… well, that's a bummer…'

'Well, what had you expect? They're crazy!' I huffed.

'Hm? Oh, actually, I had expected to go to Austria's ball together with you and Francis and Gilbert without _that_ much of a hassle… but it seems I was wrong about that.' Antonio laughed weakly, '…sorry for putting you up with this, Lovi. I shouldn't have invited them.'

He sighed and fiddled his tie some more. The disheartened expression on his face made me feel like a huge asshole. Shit, now he was getting depressed – partially… no, _mostly_ because of me. Damn. I had to do something. Something… nice, I guess. Yes, something that would lighten his mood.

But _what_? What could I do? I wasn't really experienced in doing nice things… I looked at Antonio for a moment, watching his ridiculous struggle with his tie.

At last I got fed up with it and groaned. 'My God, you're hopeless. Come here.'

I walked towards him, grabbed his hips and made him turn my way.

'Whoa – Lovi?' He gave me a surprised look, but didn't struggle or protest.

'S-shut up, dammit.'

I reached for the tie and snatched it out of his hands and away from his neck. Subsequently, I flattened it and carefully wrapped it back around his neck again, pulling the tie a bit so it would stay put as I tried to fix the long, black piece of garment as good as I could.

I knew Antonio was staring at me as I tied his stupid tie. I also knew he was starting to brighten up again when I heard a light chuckle.

'…ah, I'm not very good at stuff like this…'

I snorted. 'I know you aren't. What were you planning to do with your tie, make a fucking balloon-animal out of it? Tsk.'

He smiled some more and placed a warm hand over my cheek, his fingers stroking it softly. 'Naah, I was half-expecting _you_ to fix it for me, Lovi. I'm glad I was right about that.'

W-what the hell, had he plotted this or something? I felt my face was starting to burn again, like it always fucking did whenever I was having some weird conversation with that bastard, and I refused to look up at him.

'Damn… I-I never knew you could be such a scheming asshole, Spain.'

'And _I_ never expected _you_ to be so gullible, Lovi.'

'Shut the hell up!' I blushed and yanked his tie forcefully, '…y-you better not have any other stupid ideas up your sleeve, Spain! I'll fucking _kill_ you if you make a fool out of me at Austria's ball!'

He laughed (a bit strangled, but still) and shook his head, bringing his other hand up to my other cheek to cup my face and pull it closer to his own. 'Aw, don't you worry, Lovi – I'll behave myself. I'll be the kind of man you can be proud of, okay?~'

'J-just be yourself, dammit…' I grumbled and grabbed his wrists, not sure what to do with them except for just holding on to them, '…y-you don't have to be anyone other than that.'

Antonio blinked a few times and his face heated up, nodding enthusiastically. 'O-okay, Lovi! I'll just do that!'

'…and stay away from jerks like the Netherlands and England, will you?' I continued, voice almost inaudible.

He didn't answer right away. He just carefully pulled me even closer and kissed me affectionately, still smiling and holding my red-hot face into his hands when he pulled away.

'Ah, I thought I had already told you not to worry about that, my love, _mi amor_… I'll be fine, okay? I'll be just fine. Trust me on this one.'

'Y-you _better_ be fine, bastard, if you know what's good for you.' I scowled, but nodded anyway. My knees felt like fucking rubber every friggin' time he kissed me like that, d-dammit…

'Well!' Antonio suddenly let go of me and glanced at the clock on his nightstand, '…if we don't want to get late or receive an annoyed phone call from Austria, we better get going soon. What do you say, hm? Shall we?~'

'Fine…' I folded my arms, quickly restoring my original, pissed-off composure now that he wasn't holding me anymore, '…but you'll have to tell those bastards downstairs to hurry the fuck up, first.'

He smiled cheerfully and pulled his fucking big, intimidating, still slightly bloodstained war axe from under his bed.

'Oh, that can't be so hard now, can it?~'

I chose to believe him.


	22. En Route For Austria

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia... yeah, I'm all out of witty remarks. **

_Get ready for a load of A/n!~_

_A/n: Firstly, I'd like to react on the anonymous reviewer of chapter 21… Well, after reading your comment, I figured I might have gone a bit overboard with the jerk!Romano-thing. I mean, I didn't want to offend you or anything, so sorry if I did. I just thought it would be something for Lovino to react like that._

_A/n2: I promised I'd insert some sort of an axe-scene – sorry, didn't really turn out to be an axe-scene… I failed. _OTL

_A/n3: I have promised some Prussia/Canada, too! Okay, I guess there's a tiiiiiiiiiny bit of it in this chapter, but next chapter will have some more of it. I… hope. _*smiles nervously*

_A/n4: Oh, and don't worry: next chapter will have a smiling!Netherlands. _;-) _I'm curious about how that'll turn out…_

_A/n5: As for this chapter: don't expect too much fluff, but a friggin' MOUNTAIN of randomness and my failed attempts to humor. Y-yeah… please tell me how I did it! _^^;;;;;

_A/n6: I think there will be two chapters left for this story: a long one and a short one. Just so you know!~ _

**This Dance: En Route For Austria!**

_**Antonio**_**:**

After only a half-hour of chasing nations, I had managed to gather everybody in my front garden.

That went very well, actually! Very smoothly indeed! Ahahahaha!~

…sure, Lovi was still inside the House to check out if those big holes in the floor, walls and stairs could still be fixed and to make sure my home was still habitable without my white pillars, but let's just ignore that for now, it was probably nothing to worry about.

Even though Lovino _was_ swearing pretty loudly.

But oh well!~

'Okay then! Are you all ready to go now, hm?~'

I planted my axe into the grassy ground and looked at the grumpy, pissed off and also somewhat traumatized faces around me happily. I panted slightly as I gripped my axe a bit better and wiped my forehead, beaming another joyful smile to the nations in front of me.

'Oof, even though it's already evening, it's pretty hot outside, isn't it?'

Francis was the first to say something and smiled back at me.

'Ah, Toni… you crazy son of a bitch, you realize you could have killed us all with that charming war axe of yours, hm?~' He laughed cheerfully and showed me the large rip in his jacket, '…would you look at that! You've just ruined my best and only suit!~ Oh, you silly, silly asshole!~ Try something wacky like that again and I'll bite off your balls!~'

Ouch. I shivered involuntary. Well, that image was going to haunt me for the rest of the week. Good thing it was Saturday already.

'Aw, come on, don't give me that!' I pouted, '…it's late, you know? I wanted to make haste! And just how _else_ was I supposed to get you guys moving?'

'You could have asked us.' Germany remarked dryly.

I stared at the stern blond in confusion. 'Ask you?'

'Yes. Ask us.'

'You mean I didn't—'

'No. You didn't.'

'Oh. Sorry.'

Better make a mental note of that...

Gilbert was dangling over Germany's shoulder like a very weird kind of ragdoll, squeezing one eye shut and pointing surprisingly well at me for somebody who was dead drunk.

'Damn, 'Tonio, you'r… you're a… friggin' psycho! W-with yer… yer twenty-three axes! Fucking hell, where do you keep them all, asshole?'

Then he gagged.

'It's only one, _bruder_,' Germany pointed out, '…and please, try to keep the insides of your stomach on the inside of your stomach. This suit's new.'

Feli giggled and gave a hard slap on Gilbert's back. 'Veee!~ Prussia is totally pissed, haha!'

The albino stared at my axe groggily. 'Christ, there're so many of them… shit, must be a bitch to organize, eh, 'Tonio?'

I laughed heartily and slowly raised my axe. 'Oh Gilbo, don't let me use my Spanish Magic Axe Attack on you again!~'

**XxX**

'Oy! Spain!'

Suddenly, Lovino came running outside. He stopped when he saw me, his eyes open wide and his breathing a bit rushed. He leaned his hands on his knees for a while to catch his breath and then abruptly stood upright again, rubbing his watch in my face.

'L-look! Do you know what time it is? I'll give you a hint: it's fucking _late_! We were supposed to be at Austria's place at eight!'

'Ouch! Lovi, you're too close, I really can't see what time it is like this!' I said and grabbed his arm, turning it so that I could look at the dial. The black numbers told me it was 8.30 PM already and I swallowed heavily.

'Oh… we're too late, the ball has already started, I think…'

Lovino rolled his eyes. 'No _shit_ it has!'

'What? We're too late?' Japan looked at Germany in total panic, '…is that right? We're late? But _how_, how is that _possible_? I'm never late for anything, Germany-san! Oh no, my reputation will be _shattered_!'

'What's a reputation?' Gilbert frowned.

'Ah, Japan, _mon ami_… You hang out with _Germany _and _Italy_. Your reputation never stood a chance to begin with.' Francis chuckled, pulling a rose out of nowhere and offering it to Canada, who just looked plain miserable. Could have something to do with that scratch on his cheek that my axe… _might_ had caused, but I wasn't sure.

Surprisingly enough, Lovino, somebody who never, _ever_ worried about something as unimportant as being on time or being way too late for anything, was getting pretty upset about all of this – even more than Japan and Canada. He was nervously biting his nails and didn't even snarl at Germany when he accidentally bumped into the German. No, he even _apologized_.

'…sorry.'

And that was downright disturbing.

'Are you okay?' I asked him, inconspicuously turning my back to the other nations and pulling Lovino closer to me, '…oh Lovi, your face looks so pale… do you feel sick or something like that?'

'L-like hell I'm feeling sick!' He tried to push me away. And failed. He always failed at pushing me away. He just couldn't do it. I think he actually never wants to push me away, but since he's Lovino… no, _Romano_ and all, he has to keep resisting for some vague reason. Probably a manner of defending his Italian pride or something… Well, maybe that (somewhat cute) insecurity of his would decrease after we had announced our weddi—I mean, relationship, to the other nations.

But seriously, his current behavior was really starting to unsettle me. I frowned and studied his face a bit better. His eyes were doing the best they could to avoid mine and he hissed, clutching his hands to fists. 'W-what the hell are you doing, e-everybody is watching, d-dammit! D-don't do this in public!'

'Well, they're going to find out about us tonight anyway. Now, come on, Lovi… tell me what's wrong, hm?' I smiled and patted his head.

He swatted my hand away. 'W-what, do I have to fucking _spell_ it? Not. In. Public! You ass!'

'Fine.' I sighed, grasped Lovino's wrist and turned to the others with a mind-blowing smile.

Gilbert gasped and covered his eyes. 'My _God_, it _burns_!'

'Would you please excuse us for a minute?~' I said, ignoring Gilbert, and any without further ado I went back into my House again, pulling a struggling and complaining Lovino with me.

**XxX**

The moment the door was closed, I wrapped my arms around Lovino's waist and hugged him tightly, pressing some kisses on his face as I did.

'Ah, _mi amor_… we're alone, see? Will you tell me now, hm?'

Lovi made a strangled noise and immediately stopped struggling, muttering something angry while leaning into my embrace. He pressed his face against my body and refused to say something. Still, it was nice to feel he returned the hug. At least he wasn't so embarrassed anymore about showing me affection when it's was just the two of us. That was a good sign…

'Lovino…' I sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, '…what is it, then? Are you scared?'

He looked up to me with an annoyed frown, his chin leaning on my chest. '…what is it with you and treating me like some fucking princess? What do you expect me to do now, fall down crying? Fuck, I'm not my moronic brother, you know! Damn!'

'Aw, you're avoiding the question!~ That's so cute!' I chuckled and restrained from jumping in pain as he kicked me in the shins.

He was blushing all over again – which, honestly, suited him much better than that pallid face earlier. 'S-shit, cut it out! I'm not scared, okay? It's just that I've been waiting and preparing myself for this fucking evening to come and now… now it's all going wrong! Because of your friends! My brother! His stupid gang! Your fucking axe-frenzy! Everything! It's an omen – we probably should stay at home!'

'That's not a good idea, Lovi…' I said, hesitating.

A furrow appeared on his forehead. 'Yes, it IS a good idea, dammit! We should stay here! And… and _do_ stuff.'

Well, that sounded really suggestive. Which was wrong. I wanted to tell myself that he most likely didn't meant to make it sound like I thought it sounded (_and_ that I was a really big pervert for thinking something like that, shame on me, shame on me!), but that thought was quickly thrown out of the window as I felt Lovino's hands, groping my butt.

_Firmly _groping my butt. Oh God.

'…so… what do you think, _Antonio_?' he said huskily.

And he even called me _Antonio_, too!

I stared at him in surprise. '…I'm thinking a lot of things right now.'

'Well, that's a first.'

'Tell me about it.'

Ah, as much as I liked an assertive Lovino and as much I wanted to forget about Austria's stupid ball and drag Lovi to the nearest bedroom ASAP to screw him silly, I knew there was a time and place for everything and now was not that time or place.

Aww.

So I kindly took his hands off my lower back and squeezed them with mine, giving Lovino a reassuring smile. 'Lovi, about the ball… it'll be alright, okay? I promise it will.'

Lovino's lustful glint was gone within seconds and I felt a bit sorry for that, especially when his trademark scowl came back _full force _and he called me a bastard again. But he sounded a bit meek this time, so I guess he wasn't that unhappy with this turn of events.

'Okay,' I said, giving the Italian a soft kiss on the lips, '…now, shall we go?'

'…y-yes.' He nodded.

'Good!~'

I kissed him again and let go of him, opening the door.

I was greeted with a frying pan flying _straight_ into my face.

**XxX**

The whole (and sole, if you ask me) purpose of Austria's ball was to celebrate the anniversary of one of his most beloved friends and ex-wife, Hungary.

Ah, Hungary. Even though everybody knew Hungary was a pretty sweet, caring and friendly nation in general, they also knew you should **never** get in the way of this brunette, because she **would look for you**, and she **would find you**, and she **would haunt you down** like some wild _animal_ because of whatever injustice you had done to her. Really creepy! She once stalked Gilbert for _weeks_, for example!

In other words… you _really_ didn't want to be on her bad side.

Now, my relationship with Hungary had always been pretty good. I liked her, she liked me, and whenever I hugged Feli or Lovi or… pretty much whatever other male nation, she only seemed to like me even _more_. So yeah.

But after I had removed the frying pan of Death off my face and noticed her, standing between the other nations with a _very_ annoyed grimace, I wondered if she still liked me that much.

Hm. To ensure my safety, I should probably flee. Or feel Lovi up. Or I could just… wait and see what would happen. Yeah, let's just pick option #3 for the time being…

Hungary folded her arms and glared at me. 'God. I knew you were going to be late, Spain, but come on! This is unacceptable! You and your friends have no right to be this late on the wonderful party Roderich has organized for me!'

'Ah…' I grinned stupidly and returned her the frying pan, '…I-I'm sorry. Is that why you're here?'

She snatched the item out of my hands and huffed, before nodding. 'Yes. It is. You see, I'm not sure if you know it, Spain, but you're a pretty good friend of Roderich. At least, he _thinks_ you are. But since you're late and all, you're not _that_ much of a good friend, I suppose. Poor Roderich… He's _very_ displeased you're late.'

'H-he is?' I stammered.

'Oh yes. He's been playing Pachelbel's Canon on the piano since 8.01 PM now, Spain…_ non-stop._' Hungary smiled a dangerous smile, her voice deep and hollow, '…now, I really like Pachelbel's Canon, don't get me wrong, but a _half hour with only __**that**__ quasi-happy song_ **really** gets on your nerves.'

My God, that _smile_. I scratched my head nervously. 'Ah…'

'So I came to pick you and the other absent nations up – and what do you know, there all here!~ I guess it's true what that travel magazine said about Spain: time really _does_ stand still underneath the Spanish _sol_!~' she said pleasantly.

I was getting sweatier and more uneasy by the second and tugged her sleeves desperately. ' I-I get it, I get it… I-I'm very, _very_ sorry, so please… please stop _smiling_ like that!'

Feli laughed. 'Veee!~ Big Sister Hungary scares the crap out of me, haha!'

'Shush, Feli.' Hungary smiled and gave Lovi's younger brother a light smack on the head.

Then she turned to Gilbert, who had been put down by Germany at last, and gave him one _hell_ of a wallop.

'Ouch!' He covered his head in pain and looked at Hungary angrily. 'Wh—Y-you evil bitch, I didn't do anything!'

'I know. I just don't like you.' Hungary simply stated.

**XxX**

While Gilbert and Hungary were busy nagging at each other, I suddenly became aware of the white, large limousine that was parked just in front of my garden. I stared at it, whistled and went to a distressed-looking Francis to nudge him.

'Hey Francis, you weren't lying about that car that was going to drive us to Austria! It really is a beauty!'

He laughed sadly. 'Why, _merci_. Yes. But _that's_ not my car, Toni, my dimwitted friend – that's the car that just pushed _mine_ into that river over there.'

I followed his pointing finger and saw a glimpse of red, disappearing in the waters of the calm river that ran close by my House.

'Oh.' I said.

He gave a mournful nod. 'I know.'

I looked at the white limo again. But… if that wasn't Francis' car, then it had be be…'

'It's Hungary's, you moron.' Lovino snorted, who had been a bit quiet since Hungary had shown up – probably his anxiety for the ball striking up again – and pushed me in my back impatiently. '…hurry the fuck up and get into that stupid limousine of hers – she's offering us a ride. And we don't want to refuse. We _really_ don't want to refuse. She already knocked Prussia out.'

'Oh! Well, how very friendly of Hungary!' I said, somewhat missing the point, and let myself get pulled away by Lovi, who was heading towards the line of nations in front of the limo.

Francis followed us and tried to smile. 'Ah well, at least now I don't have to worry anymore if we're able to fit in my car.'

I nodded encouraging. 'That's right, Francis! Stay positive! It all will be just fine!~'

**XxX**

…well, the _good_ new was that we all indeed fitted into the limousine. Sort of.

The _bad_ news was that it was a bit cramped – a bit _much_. Even though the car had seemed to be very big and comfortable from the outside, it turned out to be quite… small from the inside. That's right, the largeness of the long vehicle was just an optical illusion, who would've thought! I guess it was just another way of saying 'That'll teach you punks to be late for my honey's ball!', _Hungary_-style.

In the backseat, Gilbert, Francis, Canada, Feli, Germany and Japan were squished together like a bunch of… of sardines in a really tight little can and I just knew Hungary was simply _loving_ that charming situation to bits, because…

Thanks to the short distance, Germany and Feliciano were practically _hugging_ each other as the German fixed the somewhat crumpled vest Feli was wearing ('Tssk. Italy, you really should start ironing your clothes.');

Also, Gilbert's head wounds (yes, he had received several blows) were being tendered by Canada, who had gotten absolutely fed-up with Francis' antics and completely ignored him as he carefully looked after a gloating Gilbert ('P-please sit still for a moment, Prussia… and… why is there a _bird_ in your hair?');

…and finally Japan and Francis, who were just sitting really, _really_ close to each other, tears already forming in the eyes of the poor black-haired guy as Francis' hands patted his butt contently ('Ah, somehow, we constantly seem to meet like this, _mon chéri~__')._

As for me and Lovino, we were sitting in the passenger's seat next to Hungary.

Yes, Lovino was sitting on my lap. Ahahahaha!~

Oh, I didn't mind, no, I didn't mind it at _all_ to have my cute tomato on top of me!~ But Lovino had been _dead_ against it, refusing to get into the limousine after I had patted my upper legs invitingly.

'Hop on, Lovi!~'

'W-what? You have more chances of _hell_ freezing over than me getting on your fucking _lap_, you perverted bastard!' he snapped at me.

Hungary put a hand on his shoulder and smiled creepily. 'You can choose, Romano: or you're going to sit on Spain's lap, or you're going to sit on France's.'

Francis gasped in surprise, but approved right away. 'OH! That's _wonderful_!~ Wait, let me just move Japan a bit… there! Okay Roma, _ma petite tomate_, you can join the party too!~' He already reached out a hand in a attempt to grab Lovi's.

I had never seen Lovino so eagerly to sit on me.

…ahaha. That sounded weird!~

But anyway, right now, we were on our way to Austria's House. Hungary was driving – and I must say, she was an excellent driver if you ignored the… panting and… curious way of breathing, whenever she glanced into the rear-view mirror. So yes, I amused myself very much – after all, it never got boring to have an adorable Italian on your legs and poke that same Italian's sides over and over again, just to see him quiver and squirm cutely like that!~

But Lovino wasn't pleased in the least and turned to Hungary fiercely, pinching my hand _really_ hard when I tried to poke his cheek. Ouch!

'Hey! W-why did Spain and I have to sit in front, dammit!'

'Hm? Oh, no reason!~' Hungary said, trying to hide her nosebleed behind a handkerchief.

I blinked. Huh. I guess Hungary knew, too. Just like Gilbert and Francis. And I bet Feli also suspected what was going on. Germany, Canada and Japan seemed too busy to notice _anything_ at the moment, so…

…for some reason, all of that was enough to reassure me it was okay to fool around with Lovi for a bit. So I put my arms around Lovino's small frame and slowly pulled his back against my chest. It startled him and he protested a bit by cursing under his breath and wiggling fanatically, but that had never stopped me – so it didn't stop me now, either.

'Ah, I really feel like dancing with you, Lovino!~ I can't wait until we're able to sway all of the other nations with our dancing…' I sighed, hugging him some more.

He turned his head to look at me and his face openly screamed '**stop doing that, you idiot**', but I simple grinned at him and reached for his collar, tugging it down just a little to expose a bit of the back of his neck. Then I leant closer towards him and gently kissed the warm skin.

'S-shit…' he mumbled.

I smiled. Ah, I loved the way he shivered and froze up…

I wanted to continue my playful teasing, but decided to leave it at that, before Hungary would crash us into a tree and kill us all.

**XxX**

After another half hour full of fearsome car-driving from Hungary and cries of fear and despair from the poor nations that were trapped in her Vehicle of Destruction, we finally saw Austria's House somewhere in the distance, coming closer within the second.

Ah, finally! I sighed in relief and nuzzled Lovi's back. Our first ball together was about to begin…

…now just hope I won't screw things up or something. Ahahaha.


	23. Welcome To The Ball

**Disclaimer: …why do I bother writing these disclaimer things? The hell with it, I'm going to ignore it this time! MHA! HAHA!**

_A/n: …yeah, let's just… just not-read the above disclaimer thing…_

_A/n2: So… have you heard? The Netherlands is in the World Cup Finale! WTH is wrong with this world? I never thought they'd come this far… And their opponent is Spain. SPAIN. WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SPAIN? Now, don't get me wrong, I adore Antonio – I like him more than most nations. But… yeah, I really hope he's going to lose to Daan. You can understand why, right? _^^ _Nevertheless, I wish the both of them lots of luck!~_

_A/n3: …I really don't know if I'm happy with this chapter. It's… it's freakishly LONG. And silly. Hm… well, I hope you guys will still like it…_

**This Dance: Welcome To The Ball**

_**Antonio**_**:**

Something was wrong with the way Austria looked at me after we had arrived.

He was frowning. And looking annoyed. And pissed off. And grumpy. And displeased. With his crossed arms and furrowed forehead.

…well, sure, nothing new here because these were pretty much his usual facial expressions, but this time they were a _tad_ more intense, more frustrated and more murderous. I could tell he wasn't amused to see me showing up like this and he was even _less_ amused to notice a drunken Gilbert, a panting Francis and a flustered Lovino surrounding me. Because all of them – except for me, apparently – were nations he couldn't stand.

He also wasn't too happy to see his beloved ex-wife Hungary, _humping_ Germany and Feli – yes, _the both of them_. That was… huh. Yeah. I guess it all was a bit too much for her to handle in the end. That's probably one of the many reasons why the car ended in Austria's front garden full of _edelweiss_ instead of the parking-lot.

…that was partly my fault, really, because just when Hungary was about to park the white monstrosity that was the limousine, my (bad, unfaithful) hands had decided – on their own, I swear to God – to pull Lovino's haircurl. That had earned me a moan, a really weird term of abuse, a fist in the face and a car diving into a field full of cute little white flowers, but Lovi's lusty moan had been _absolutely_ worth it. Oh yes. Yes yes yes.

But, yeah. Austria wasn't content. Not at all. If his piano had been somewhere around here, I knew he would have displayed his musical anger with a passion.

I walked up the Austrian standing in front of his huge, classical House – pulling Lovino with me – and grinned sheepishly. '…um… hi, Austria! We're… a bit late!'

'You don't say.' Austria adjusted his glasses without stopping his non-stop glaring and slowly shook his head. I thought he was going to say something, but he wasn't, so for a while, I was just… standing there, looking at a head-shaking Austria. I was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable, when suddenly Lovi spoke up.

'…listen, you… Austria,' he said, jerking his hand loose, but not too forcefully. Austria looked at him and immediately sent all of his intimidating vibes towards the Italian… who, actually, wasn't impressed at all.

Lovi rolled his eyes. '…okay bastard, first of all, I'm not a big fan of _you_, either, so stop staring at me like that – I'm not going to leave, anyway. Secondly, you're probably thinking in your own fucked-up, twisted Austrian manner what a giant jackass Spain is for being too late for your stupid ball – you're right, he _is_. He's a loser and a bastard and he is a very, very evil kind of man. You really should kick him between the legs one day, because he deserves it.'

'Ahahaha…' I smiled panicky and poked Lovino's shoulder, '…n-not helping, Lovi…'

'But it's not only his fault, okay?' the Italian continued fiercely, slapping away my hand, '…his stupid friends were holding us up and then your potato-munching pal Germany showed up with Feliciano and for _some_ reason, Japan was also there and just when I thought my life was officially hating me, that creepy ex-wife of yours showed up. That was the moment I knew my life didn't only hate me, it was also very eager to watch me die a painful death. Damn, where did she learn to drive!'

'I can't tell you that. That's classified information, Romano.' Hungary smiled, who was suddenly standing beside Austria.

'Romano.' Austria didn't like Lovino's attack on his personal space and took a few steps back, '…what are you trying to say?'

'I…' Lovino exchanged a glance with me, before still slightly plump cheeks turned a very deep and dark kind of red, '…I'm dating this bastard, _dammit_!'

Then he ran inside Austria's mansion, cursing and swearing all the way.

'Well. Congratulations on getting a boyfriend, Spain,' Austria coolly remarked, not even blinking, '…but I'm sure that's not what he was trying to say.'

''I liked it, though…' Hungary swallowed heavily and looked at me with half-lidded eyes, '…it's alright, Spain. I forgive you for being too late. Just make sure to send me pictures of you two every now and then.'

'Okay!' I said.

'Being together.'

'Okay!'

'Doing stuff.'

'Okay!'

'That'll be all.'

Well, that sounded innocent enough!~

'You forgive him?' Austria frowned, confused, but seemed to _get it_ as he saw the perverted smile on her face. He sighed and turned to face me again. '…well, since Hungary's pleased with… with something I don't mind never finding out, _ever_, I suppose you don't have to worry about being unacceptably late anymore.'

I blinked and scratched my head. '…s-so… that means…?'

He nodded. 'You can come in.'

'Ah, that's great! Thank you!' I sighed in relief and grabbed his hands to shake them happily, but Austria quickly withdrew his hands again and slapped me on the head.

'Don't touch me, I'm still mad at you. I guess you have Romano as your partner for tonight?'

I pouted and rubbed my poor head. 'Yes, he—'

'Yes? Then explain _this_ individual's presence.' He grabbed the ear of Gilbert, who was doing his best to sneak into the Austrian's mansion without being seen – and was _failing_ at it like whoa.

The Prussian nation shrieked. 'Ouch! What the hell, why is everybody trying to hurt me today! Let go of my awesome ear, you four-eyed wuss!'

'You're not allowed to come in, Prussia. You KNOW that you aren't, I even sent you a note which said you couldn't come, and yet… here you are.' Austria said.

'Let's smack him, Mister Austria.' Hungary raised her frying pan and licked her lips.

But before Hungary could whack Gilbert and before I could do anything to help him, Canada suddenly walked towards Austria and took a few deep breaths, before grabbing one of the hands of the albino.

'…p-please let him go. H-he's with me, Mister Austria, so… so I think it'll be alright…'

Austria and Hungary stared at him in surprise. '…are you taking responsibility for this suspicious person?'

'Y-yes. He's… he's my partner for the ball…' Canada said. Gilbert just looked at him with big, admiring eyes. Hungary was doing the same, by the way.

'Well… I suppose you can come in, then.' Austria slowly said, releasing Gilbert's ear, '…but I warn you, Prussia: try anything funny and you'll be thrown out.'

'Oh pfff, don't you worry, Roddy! I'll be good, just like Mattie said!' Gilbert laughed joyfully and gave Canada a tight hug, before dashing inside of the impressive Austrian mansion, dragging a blushing Canadian with him.

'Prussia and Canada… C-cute…' Hungary drooled and quickly searched for her handkerchief, since her nose started bleeding again. She gasped, '…oh dear, did I say that out loud?'

'You sure did!' I said and realized a bit too late that this probably was one of those moments I had to shut up and laugh heartily instead of doing… pretty much anything else. Whoops.

Hungary smoothed the ripples of her dress and gave me a big smile – the kind of smile you really _**didn't**_ want to receive. 'Well, Spain, then you better keep quiet about this to Prussia, or else you'll be sorry for ever being born on this planet!~'

'I never heard anything about Gilbert!' I hastily said, and turned to pat Austria's back, '…a-anyway, how nice of you to let Canada and Gilbert in, Austria, even though Canada isn't part of Europe and Gilbert's… Gilbert!'

'Yes.' Austria looked at me emotionlessly. 'That's right. I can be nice.'

I hesitated, but grinned nevertheless. '…you can be very nice indeed!'

'Well, I'm glad we both agree on that point.' Austria beckoned me, '…why don't you go inside now, hm? Then you'll be able to see the piano I destroyed by constantly playing Pachelbel's Canon on it like a madman.'

'…ah.'

'Which was your fault.'

I _really_ didn't know what to say at that, so I decided to shut up and laugh heartily.

**XxX**

The moment I entered Austria's ballroom (alone, since Austria was now busy nagging at France and his sudden lack of a partner), it became clear to me that me and the other nations that had been with me all this time, really were the last nations to arrive at Austria's ball.

Everybody else had already been present. Really, the whole of Europe was here, like Russia and his two sisters, sitting in front of the curtains of one of the ceiling-high windows – and Russia actually looked like he was having fun, even if Belarus was busy evilly poking him with her freakishly long fingernails. I also saw the Nordic nations, like Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. They were at the buffet, pretty much plundering the whole table. They seemed to be having fun, too.

Then there were England and America – snarling at each other as always – and the Baltic nations Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were having a good conversation with Germany and Japan… oh, and Greece and Switzerland seemed to get along with each other just fine. Liechtenstein was close behind Switzerland, giving me a small smile when she saw me before focusing on her 'brother' again… oh, and many, many more nations were present at the room, all of them from Europe and some other nations in the world – I even saw Sealand running by. They all looked really refined, chatting and laughing. Everybody was dressed up properly and nobody seemed to be out of place. I felt a smile appearing on my face: it was nice to see everybody like this, really.

The ballroom itself also looked high-class. The long, black curtains in front of the large windows were all closed up and the huge, 19th century chandelier on the ceiling was just breathtaking, enlightening the whole room with its own tasteful light and with the help of only a few candleholders, placed on several small, dark tables. On the left side of the ballroom were the buffet and the entrance to this room, on the right side was the bar. In the middle was the wooden dance floor of the room, the waxed surface reflecting the light of the few, but pleasant and bright candlelight's. The floor looked absolutely magnificent, but also empty – very, very empty. Looked like nobody felt like dancing yet.

Oh, but I _did_ feel like dancing!~

So after I had greeted a couple of nations, I went to look for Lovino.

**XxX**

He wasn't that difficult to find, since I could hear him from over a great distance, shouting at Denmark to 'stay the fuck away' from the tomato-dishes. Feliciano was with him, smiling as always as he loaded as much pasta on his plate as humanly possible. He smiled even more when he saw me approaching the buffet. 'Veee… Hi, Big Brother-in-Law Spain!~'

'Hi Feli!' I greeted back, '…are you always going to greet me like that from now on? Because I kind of like it, ahahaha!~'

'Huh?' Lovino stopped fighting the grinning Nordic nation for a moment and looked over his shoulder, a bit startled when he noticed me standing behind him. 'W-what the… when the hell did you pop up here, bastard!'

'Hm? Oh, ever since Austria let me pass him!' I said, looking at the younger nation in front of me with bright eyes, '…I'm glad I was able to find you!'

'…I-I... you'd find me anywhere anyway, bastard...' Lovino muttered, staring at an exceptional large pizza covered in tomatoes. From the corners of my eyes, I saw Feli sneaking away with a content smile on his face. Aw, how thoughtful of him!~

'So!' I said, taking both of the hands of my lovely Lovi in mine before he could do anything about it, '…what do you say, _querido_? Shall we dance? Because I can't wait to show everybody how wonderful I'm able to dance… whenever I'm with _you, mi amor_.'

Lovino blushed and although he smiled a bit, the frown in his forehead deepened – which made him look _so damn cute_, so very, very, utterly _cute_ and adorable…

'What do you say, hm?~' I almost whispered, leaning into his face _just_ before our foreheads connected.

'I… I…' Lovino cursed something under his breath, but his blushing only increased. He slowly closed his eyes and lifted his face a bit, waiting for something to come. I stupidly stared at his red face and puckered lips for a second or two, before I realized he expected me to kiss him.

That made me chuckle. 'Really now, Lovi? In public? Are you sure about that?'

His closed eyes shut tighter and his lips were now forming a pout. '…s-shut up! A-are you going to kiss me or not!'

I firmly put my hands on his shoulders. 'Oh yes, I'll kiss you!~'

'H-hurry up then, d-dammit…' he sighed softly, '…f-fuck, I feel like an idiot…'

I smiled and gave him a chaste, quick kiss on the lips – of course, I would've liked it more to just slam our lips together and exchange saliva with him like HELL YES~ and like there was nobody around, but… well, there _were_ people around. And I didn't want all of the other nations' attention on me and Lovi – just _yet_.

Lovi also didn't indicate he wanted a more passionate kiss, since he almost immediately pulled away shortly after and quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Aww.

'Lovi, you're so mean!~ You normally never wipe your mouth after I've kissed you!' I complained, my lower lip trembling dramatically.

'Oh, stop that, y-you ass...' He scowled and folded his arms, but then unfolded them again, because if he didn't, he couldn't grab something to eat. And that would be unthinkable.

'…l-listen,' he mumbled, shamelessly grabbing the _whole_ tomato-pizza like it was the most normal thing to do, '…I've informed a few nations already about us. Like… like Feliciano, and Canada, and Belgium… oh, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein, so… I think it's only a matter of time before the whole of Europe will be informed.'

I frowned and rubbed the back of my head, 'Ah… that's great, Lovi – just like that pizza of yours! But you're avoiding the question again, _mi amor_: I asked you to dance with me…'

Lovino's slightly alarmed expression when he saw my face fall was priceless. 'I-I _will_ fucking dance with you – dammit, stop making that face, bastard! I just want to eat first! I _have_ to eat first, before those Nordic bastards eat everything I hold dear!'

'…you hold dear?'

'The tomatoes, dammit! The fucking tomatoes!'

I bit my lower lip and suppressed a snort. 'That's right, Lovi – tomatoes are serious business.'

He seemed to be pleased with that answer and was generous enough to give me a triumphant grin. 'You bet they are!'

I nodded and bit my lower lip some more. My God, he was so _handsome _and _jumpable_, smiling like that…~

But, yeah… I guess I had to wait until Lovi had finished eating.

**XxX**

While Lovino was stuffing his adorable face with all kinds of tomato-flavored food, I had wandered off to the bar. It could take a while before Lovino was completely satisfied, so I figured I might as well could go for a drink. I always enjoyed a good glass of _sangria_…

I wasn't alone at the bar: Francis was sitting there, too. But he didn't want to hang out with me – he was too busy drowning his sorrows with the finest French wines on Earth.  
The reason? Well, apparently, Canada had dumped him for Gilbert.

'Aw, come on,' I had tried to cheer my French comrade up in the beginning, '…don't say that, I'm sure Canada is just messing with you!~'

'Toni.' Francis shot a glare at me, '…I saw them. _Kissing_. Behind the curtains.'

'Oh, that probably means nothi—'

'I saw some groping, too.'

'A-ah…'

I stared at my glass. Francis did the same.

'So… want to talk about it?' I asked.

'Hm. Maybe after I have _got_ _some_.' He turned his face towards me and grinned flirtatiously, '…interested, _mon ami_?'

I blinked. 'Interested in what?'

Francis stared at me with a blank look on his face, before he just… just bonked his head on the counter of the bar really hard a couple of times. It was really confusing, really.

And then he passed out.

And then _this_ brilliant thought crossed my mind: why not leave Francis alone for a while?

…so that's what I did.

And now I was all alone (sure, Francis was just over there, being out cold and such, but he didn't count right now), waiting for my second _sangria, _bored out of my mind. I probably would have taken a quick nap; if somebody hadn't suddenly placed my drink in front of me – with a pretty firm thud.

I looked up, feeling a bit angry because of that unnecessary loud sound – it was, really! – but I felt my anger fading away when I looked right into the bright, green eyes of Femke. The Belgian nation was standing behind the bar – I guess Austria had hired her as barwoman or something like that.

'…Femke?' I said, '…how long have you been standing here?'

'A good evening to you, too, Antonio!' She rolled her eyes, but smiled friendly, putting a hand on her hip, '…man, you really took your time noticing me, didn't you? I've been here all evening already! Serving drunken nations like France and England. Thankful work, really. It seems like only _being_ Belgium is enough to force me to serve beer. Well, I suppose it's a good thing I like beer, huh?'

'Ah! Well… sorry for being too slow to notice you.' I smiled carefully.

She made a waving gesture with her hand. 'Naah, that's fine, Antonio, don't worry about it. In fact, don't worry at all!~ You have a cute boyfriend, you shouldn't worry about anything but him!~'

'Oh, that's right, Lovi already told you about us just a moment ago, right?' I remembered.

The mysterious smile Femke beamed at me reminded me of a mischievous, feline-kind of animal. It always did – and it always made me feel a bit uncomfortable. At last, she shrugged. '…well, I've known about you and Roma for a while now, Antonio.'

I felt my face heating up instantly, which was weird – I most of the time didn't blush in situations like this.

'…y-you did, huh…' I chuckled, '…so… that means Lovino really _did_ call you a few days ago.'

The Belgian girl nodded. 'Yeah. He was worried about you. You know, because of what happened that day.'

'I know.'

'…you were pretty creepy, by the way.'

'_You should have seen me today! Man, my axe and I were on fire as we smashed the place up!~'_ I wanted to say, but instead grimaced at the thought and poked some of the ice cubes in my drink.

…hm. I think Lovi was right: I _should_ take some kind of therapy.

Femke was silent for a while and just wanted to say something, when somebody else sat on the barstool beside me. I slowly raised my head and felt a heavy weight coming down on my shoulders as I recognized Femke's brother.

The Netherlands. The only former colony of my once great empire whose human name I had never, _ever _used.

He stared at me coldly, before tapping his large hands on the black counter. 'Yo, _zusje_. I could go for a beer or two.'

'Yo, _grote broer_. I don't care!~ ' Femke simply smacked a towel into his face. Just like that – _whack_.

After that, she walked away.

The Dutch nation growled a bit, but didn't pull away the (pink?) towel right away and sat there for a minute or two, motionless. With a towel on his spiky hair. Which was actually pretty funny to look at, so soon enough I found myself snickering at his misery.

Ha! Sucker.

Suddenly, he threw the rag off his face and sighed, lightening a cigarette. 'Huh. Maybe I should stop asking her to become one with my country again. She always starts throwing things into my face whenever I ask her that.'

'Then you should stop asking.' I heard myself say, taking a sip of my drink.

'Then maybe I will.'

'Good.'

'Yes, maybe I will.'

'You've already said that.'

'I know I've already said that.'

'Well, good.'

'You've already said that.'

'I know I've already said that.'

'Good.'

'Good.'

'Good.'

'GOOD!'

'So, how's Romano doing?'

I looked at the Dutchman with a facial expression that was rapidly changing from annoyed to frustrated to surprised to downright _amazed_.

'…did you just change the topic?'

'Don't change the topic now, Spain.' He frowned, the smoke of his cigarette circling around his head, '…so, tell me… how's Romano doing?'

I opened and closed my mouth, wondering if I should pull out my hair out of my head – partly because of pure despair and partly to punish me for having this weird conversation with this illogical guy – or if I should just… just answer his question.

Well, I was tired. And pulling out hair was painful.

'…Lovino is doing okay,' I said bluntly, looking away from him, '…he's at the buffet. Eating.'

'Aha. Strange – I thought the two of you were going to dance. You know, since you're dating and planning to tell everybody.' he said.

I involuntary winced at that. 'So Femke told you.'

'Yes. She said you and Romano are very cute.'

'A-ahahaha. Please don't say that. It sounds so wrong when it's coming from you.' I shivered.

The Netherlands smirked and put one of his hands on top of my head, turning it his way with a simple twist of his wrist. 'Hey.'

I stared at him furiously and gritted my teeth, but somehow managed to stay calm. 'What?'

He let go and blew some grey smoke from between his lips. 'You shouldn't worry him like that.'

Again, I blinked with my eyes. '…w-what?'

'You've already said tha—'

'Oh dear _God_. Don't even _think _about starting _that_ again!' I took a deep breath, '…e-enough already. Just tell me… what you just said… a-about Lovino.'

He cracked his knuckles and moved his fingers for a bit, never looking at me. 'Look, I know you can't stand me. And I can't stand you, either. But did you really have to show it like that, with Romano around?'

I didn't know what to say. And something in my brain told me that laughing heartily wasn't going to work, this time.

'I'm not saying I was doing fine at that moment – hell, I _really_ didn't want to see you. But you're older than me, Femke and Romano. You should have been the wisest and you should have acted like the Spanish goofball you are.' The Netherlands said.

I stared at the counter and still didn't say anything. He was right – I knew he was. I should have acted like a grown-up and not like some trembling maniac back then. I shouldn't have scared Lovino – and Femke, for all that matters – like that. I moaned and leaned my face into my hands. Ugh…

Sure, Lovi had known me long enough to be aware of AND to use the best method to wake me from the temporary malfunction of my brain in the end (ahahaha… yes, that was nice~) and sure, I had promised him not to react like that again, but still… he had been pretty upset about it for a while. Calling Femke, asking me if I was alright with meeting the Netherlands and England… yes, all kinds of things like that…

All of a sudden, I sat upright. That reminded me… I had promised Lovi to be… well, _me_, at the ball, right? Well, then I was going to _be_ me! Netherlands or no Netherlands!

'I have to go!' I announced to the Netherlands, my eyes open wide, '…I have to go to Lovino and be _me_!'

He looked at me in half-amused curiosity. 'You're going to dance, then?'

'Yes!'

'Just like that? Romano's still eating.'

'And you're still a huge asshole! But that didn't stop me from talking to you, either!~'

Now it was his turn to blink. '…well, _ouch_.'

'Okay, I'm going now!' I cheerfully jumped off my barstool, almost falling on my face in the process but still smiling nevertheless, '…I have to ask a certain Italian to dance with me!'

And without further adieu, I ran off.


	24. And Every Other Dance

**Disclaimer: ~Still ignoring~**

_A/n: Well, this is it – the last chapter. It feels weird to say goodbye to this story, you know? I've gotten used to uploading every Saturday morning and writing the next chapter over the days that would follow… But since I'll be busy with school during the Summer break (yes, even during the Summer break… _OTL_), I suppose it's good that it's ending here._

_A/n2: Another long chapter! Man, I just love these, don't I? Hope the ending isn't too lame or corny…_

_A/n3: There's a wee bit of Russia/Belgium in this, because I like that couple. Now, don't look at me like that… _^^;

_By the way, __**the next chapter isn't part of this story – it's a thank-you to all of the kind reviewers and readers, since I thought you guys totally deserve that. **__**So, yay!**_

**This Dance: And Every Other Dance**

_**Lovino**_**:**

D-dammit…

I really should have seen this question coming. I should have seen it. But I didn't – of course I didn't, because I'm a stupid and oblivious bastard. That's just the story of my life, I guess.

Ugh…

**XxX**

Feliciano and I had been sitting at a stupid, no, _fucking_ small table on wobbly chairs, eating delicious _Bruschetta_ (with tomatoes, of course, and without garlic, because I fucking _hate _garlic) for a while now, not having a care in the world. Everything was going just fine, since we were both busy eating wonderful food and everything's simply better when eating wonderful food – hell, I was even _this_ close to actually _smiling_, _that's_ how much I enjoyed the lovely dish!

So I wasn't on my guard and I hadn't expected Feliciano to open his yap (which was still half-full – barbaric idiot) and ask me something that was so… so… s-stupid, dammit…

Naturally, I just continued eating and pretended I hadn't heard him… which only made things worse.

**XxX**

Feliciano frowned, took a bite from a piece of grilled bread and stared at me with a bizarre intensity.

'So…?'

I eyed him weirdly, acting as innocent as I could while grabbing a piece of bread myself. 'W-what! What is it!'

He smiled. 'Oh, I'm sure you've heard me, Lovi!~'

'L-like hell I've heard you, dammit!' I quickly turned my head away from him.

I was unable look at his face like this, but I could tell Feliciano's smile was spreading immediately. 'Veee~ Well, okay then, if you insist, I'll ask you again!'

'Wha- I-I'm not insisting anything at _all_, you little troll! You really don't have to ask-'

'But I want to!~' He giggled and leant a bit towards me, '…so, big brother? How does it feel, hm? To be in love with Big Brother-in-Law Spain?~'

I groaned softly, embarrassed, and covered my face with my hands in a weak attempt to hide my red face, which _burned_, burned with an intensity that put the intensity of Antonio's killer-smiles to shame. That's right! To fucking _shame,_ dammit!

'I'm just curious, you know?~' Feliciano said in a singsong voice, even when he tried to pull one of my hands off my face quite forcefully, '…I'm wondering if you're feeling the same bubbly and happy emotions that I'm feeling when I'm with Ludwig – ah! Veee, please don't bite me, big brother…'

'I-it's none of your business, okay!' I snarled and pushed away his annoying, somewhat greasy hands. The hell was he taking about, by the way! Me, biting him? Yeah, _sure. _No way I was going to bite into those fifthly paws of his! I'd rather bite Antonio's big _**no no no, not going there, not going there**_.

Feliciano whined. 'Veee… Lovi, you're no fun at all! We're brothers, you can tell me!~'

'I don't _want_ to tell you!'

'Why not!'

'I have my damn reasons!'

I gnawed onto my lower lip. I-it was embarrassing, dammit! Couldn't that airheaded loser understand that I was still too… I don't know, _aloof_ to talk about our friggin' – _oh God_ – _boyfriends_, like it was the most normal thing in the world? I mean, I wasn't even used yet to being… g-_gay, _let alone to having a stupid, moronic lover like Antonio…

…e-even though I really, _really_ didn't want to lose him.

…now hold on. What? _What_?

I "really didn't want to lose" him? Did I _really_ think something so… so ridiculously _fluffy _and _gay_ and _loving _and _gay_ and _stupid_ and… and just so very, VERY _gay_? S-shit, what the fuck? Was I becoming a second Feliciano? Oh my God, NO. I know I could be jealous at the guy, but come on, I have my limits, thank you.

I thought about Feliciano's question some more. Damn, that was… it was just so… _gah. _I felt my face getting even warmer and hissed and cursed under my breath, which seemed to become one of my favorite hobbies, lately – seriously, if I managed to keep this up, I would probably make a perfect snake.

…but… to answer Feliciano's question (silently in my head, of course – serves Feliciano the Fathead right)…

…it was weird. Being in love, that is. I-I had never experienced it before. I always felt weird and a bit tense whenever that tomato-bastard was around, but… on the other hand, I also felt like smiling my fucking face off, like some retarded fool. I felt like everything that would usually bug the living daylights out of me, was just… just getting less annoying, as long as Antonio was beside me.

Talking to me. Smiling at me. Walking next to me. "Accidentally" brushing his hand against mine. Filling my head with puffy pink clouds…

…and k-kissing me, a-always kissing me, dammit, just always, always holding and kissing me and making me feel dizzy and special and… and…

It didn't matter, actually. It really didn't matter. He always made me feel so… so _fucked-up_ and _confused_ and _scared_, scared like _shit_, but _hell_, I wouldn't want to miss a single thing of it, not even for all the money of the world.

God. I just didn't get it, the whole "love" –business.

So, my conclusion?

Loving somebody was a fucking _bitch_, dammit.

**XxX**

After a while, Feliciano finally stopped complaining about my stubborn silence – a small victory, just like every moment of "Defying my Younger Brother!" was.

But his big, bright eyes were now observing me even more intently than before. Fucking creepy. It made me want to pull a Russia and get the _hell_ away from him like he was that freaky Belarus-chick, but since I was a proud and tough Italian, I stayed put.

Besides, _no way_ he was getting the last pieces of _Bruschetta_ by some mere creepy staring.

Out of the blue, Feliciano reached out a finger to me and poked a certain spot in my neck. Over and over again – annoying moron – until I got fed up with it and stomped my brother on the head.

'Ouch, Lovi! That hurt!~ You're so mean!'

'See if I care.'

His face fell. Good! But it didn't stop him from looking at me expectantly.

'Veee… anyway, big brother… what's that red spot, hm?'

'Huh?' I immediately touched the spot myself too, frowning as I indeed felt something sore and a bit familiar. Then I suddenly remembered some pretty intense neck-sucking from the other night – f-fucking perverted Spaniard, dammit – and shivered. H-he had been too damn enthusiastic, t-that bastard…

Feliciano stared at the red mark some more and cocked his head to the side, '…y'know, it kind of looks like a hick—'

'You're wrong! It isn't a hickey!' I protested, maybe a bit too quickly, covering the damned spot with my hand, '…i-it's a mosquito bite! Damn those insects, they're fucking swarming that bastard's place!'

'Really?~' My little brother smiled knowingly, leaning on his elbows, '…mosquito's, hm? Veee… do you have more bites like that, then?'

'Of course I have! You should see my… my…' The words died in my throat. What the fuck? Had I lost my fucking mind? I couldn't possibly tell Feliciano about the… the… m-mosquito bites on the insides of my upper thigh!

'_Ahahaha… Why are you squirming so much, Lovi? I know you like it when I kiss you here… and here… and even here… Ah, you're so cute…~'_

Damn. So that's why my legs felt so weird this morning.

I pursed my lips tightly until it started to hurt, only to prevent myself from licking my slightly dry lips when that hazy memory came to mind again. Oh no, I _wasn't_ getting turned on from that, I certainly wasn't!

'Enough of that bullshit already, Feliciano!' I shot an angry glare to Feliciano and gestured to the remaining of the delicious bread on the big plate in front of us, '…the _real_ question here is… who's going to get the last piece?'

The minute I noticed his wondering expression change into a shocked one, I knew that I had successfully changed the subject.

'Ooh! Oh, can I have it, big brother? Please? Please please please, please let me have that last piece, please!~'

I rolled my eyes. 'Sure, go ahead.'

Pssh. 'Defying my Younger Brother!' had become disappointingly easy over the years. A relieved sigh escaped my lips.

Thank God it had.

**XxX**

While Feliciano was munching the last remain of _Bruschetta,_ I was just asking myself if I should or shouldn't go for another trip to the buffet (there were still some pretty tasty-looking dishes, I had noticed).

Then, suddenly, I heard a (way too warm) voice calling out my name:  
'Oh Lovino!~'

Call me stupid, but I instantly forgot everything I was doing and planning to do by hearing that stupid voice of his. I swallowed heavily and slowly looked up from the table, only to see Antonio, t-that bastard. With his stupid, Spanish hotness and all. Damn him.

He smiled down at me charmingly, folding his hands on his back as he somewhat bent over to me. 'Hi!'

'…y-yeah. Hi.' I stared at him. He looked nice. He also blushed a bit and seemed really happy to see me. He always seemed happy to see me.

I liked that. I smiled awkwardly.

'Are you finished eating, hm?~' Antonio asked and glanced at the plate on the table.

'M-maybe. Why?' I frowned, losing the smile right away.

Antonio laughed a bit and leaned forward even more, carefully touching my forehead with his own. 'Because I want to dance with you, _querido_. I've been waiting to dance with you.' He lifted my face and moved his head, so he could nuzzle my cheek softly, placing sweet, quick kisses on it as much as he could.

I huffed and muttered something even I myself couldn't hear. B-bastard…

Although I've been touched by the Spaniard many times already (and in… various ways), I still felt a small shock shooting down my spine when he grabbed one of my hands and pulled it to his chest.

'Ah, Lovi… please dance with me, _mi amor_. Come.'

I breathed in shakily and found myself nodding, approving his request. But really, i-it was only natural to be too… too friggin' overwhelmed by his stupid, slowly-spoken words to protest, dammit. O-of course it was. It had to be.

Be-because that was the _only_ explainable reason why I just a few seconds later stood up from my seat and followed him so obediently.

**XxX**

Antonio never let go of my hand as he guided me to the dance floor. He also didn't look up or talked to other nations as we walked past them. It was actually kind of amusing, frankly. It looked like he was determined to get the both of us on the shiny floor as fast as possible and nothing that could stop him, absolutely _nothing_.

While we were walking – or _sprinting_, for all that matters – to the dance floor, it must have been very obvious to the other persons present that we probably had a pretty intimate relationship with each other. I mean, mine and Antonio's fingers were intertwined together tightly and since I was blushing like a friggin' lovesick teenage girl, I was sure we were looking just like a stupid couple of lovers.

But still, _nobody _seemed to pay extra attention to us. Nobody stopped in his or her tracks to stare at me and Antonio and nobody actually seemed surprised to see us like this. Sure, I caught a gracious grin of America and a knowing wink of Poland, but that was all. There were no sudden murmurs, no whispering and no changes whatsoever.

It was strange, but that simple knowledge was very, _very_ comforting for me: to know that it was okay. That others accepted it – no, that others _expected_ it from us. Not that not-getting their acceptance would have stopped me from dating Antonio, mind you, but it sure made things easier.

For example, now I _didn't_ had to head-butt everybody around me to force them to accept our relationship. And that was good. Yes, it was. It saved me from one hell of a headache.

**XxX**

Over the past few weeks, I had started to like dancing. The movements, the music, the intimacy with your partner, the swift turns and twists of every single dance… it was all pretty cool – even though I'd never openly admit that – and exciting. I had felt like a fucking fantastic dancer, but only because _Antonio_ was a fucking fantastic dancer, with that lean, smooth body of his, making my own body move in every direction he wanted without meeting any resistance.

Sure, I knew I also wasn't that bad at dancing, but compared to that Spanish moron, I was still a beginner.

So when I found myself on the dance floor of the Austrian aristocrat, I suddenly didn't want to dance anymore.

I mean, shit! That floor was fucking _big_! And empty! And there were lights shining down on us – _only_ us – and the moment Antonio and I had walked onto the dance floor, everybody's attention suddenly _was _drawn towards us! Everybody looked at us! It was just plain ironic: so it wasn't that special Antonio and I were lovers, but hell, apparently, it certainly _was_ special to enter a random large floor with no other nations on it! What the fuck!

Antonio noticed my uneasy posture and my nervous glances at the others around us and he chuckled, spinning me around to let me face him, placing his hands on my back. 'What is it, Lovi? Getting stage fright, hm?~'

I flustered. 'S-shut the hell up! So what if I am! Aren't _you_ fucking scared? Do you even know we're the only ones on the floor?'

'Oh no, I'm fully aware of that.' He smiled goofily, his face giving away he couldn't care less if we were the only ones or not. I guess it really didn't matter to him at all, as long as we were able to dance. Optimistic sucker.

Well, _I_ wasn't a happy-go-lucky bastard like him – I was fucking anxious! I gulped and squeezed my eyes shut, bumping my head into Antonio's chest. 'S-shit…'

'Lovi?' Antonio patted my head worriedly, '…hey, don't be scared, _querido_, you really don't need to. Do you even realize how good you are at dancing?'

'…that was only because of _you_, dammit…' I mumbled, '…you're way too good, you bastard.'

He laughed heartily. 'Thank you, I think. But it takes two dancers to make a dance a good dance… and without you, I'm sure it hadn't been a good dance.'

I looked up at him in confusion. 'What the fuck are you saying, idiot!'

'Ah, how uncute. Don't swear at me, Lovi…' Antonio smiled and pulled me closer, '…I'm saying that _you_ were the one who made me dance like that, just like you needed _me_ to make you dance like that. It's some sort of circle, really…'

It was very tempting to throw some sarcastic comments in his cheerful face for saying weird and philosophical shit like that, but I decided it was better not to.

Antonio's smile softened. 'Just trust me, Lovino. It'll be alright. I promised you it'll be alright, and I'm not planning to break that promise… but you _have_ to believe in me, _mi amor_. You have to.'

'Hmpf.' I glared pointlessly at his loosened tie. Damn, I should have tied it better.

'Now… Do you trust me, Lovi?' Antonio asked me, lowering his head in order to look at me.

Damn those beautiful green puppy eyes. I growled softly, but nodded ever so slightly. '…y-yeah, I trust you, dammit…'

'Good.' Antonio suddenly grabbed my waist and one of my hands, positioning me in a dance I recognized as the Rumba as he whispered in my ear:

'Then dance with me, Lovino.'

And unexpectedly, there was music.

**XxX**

The Rumba was a slow dance – the slowest of all of the Latin dances there were. It wasn't a very difficult dance. The most important thing you really had to keep in mind while dancing the Rumba, was to sway in your slow movements, use the movements to flirt with your dance-partner and to stay close to him. This dance looked a lot like the alluring and enticing Cha-Cha, only with fewer steps, fewer light-footedness and a lot more sensual undertones.

It was a dangerous dance, a passionate, seductive dance, which always had to be preformed with a certain amount of caution: the leading partner had to try to win over his stubborn fellow dancer, who would either accept the other, or just completely reject him. It was a story, a story with a happy or sad ending for the lead, depending on the mood of his partner.

…this information was more or less cramped into my head over the past few weeks by Antonio, who was always eager to teach me more about the background of specific dances. I thought didn't give a damn about it, but somehow, I could still recall most of the stupid things he told me about the many sorts of Latin and Ballroom dances. I didn't know why. I wish I _did _know why. Maybe… maybe I _did_ think it was interesting, or something corny like that.

And maybe, just maybe, _that_ was the reason why I was currently moving my body in time with Antonio's as he made me wander away from him and pull me back to him at the last moment.

Antonio smiled at me with subtle, inhibited passion, his thumbs drawing small circles on the back of my hands as if he was telling me a secret message, a message only meant for me. He guided me over the wooden floor, his encouraging hands sliding down on my hips to make them move around slowly, carefully, before he took a hold of my hands again. Then he playfully 'asked' me with meaningful gestures to walk just like he walked, to slide just like he slid, to dance just like he danced.

Normally, I would be happy to perform my act as the unwilling dance-partner with everything I got inside of me, but now, with the whole or friggin' _Europe _(and some other nations as well, dammit) goggling at me and Antonio like brain-dead idiots, I was more comfortable in the act as accepting dance-partner.

It made Antonio snicker. 'Ah, Lovi, how surprising – you rarely let me conquer you this easily, _mi amor_.'

I gritted my teeth. 'I-I _never_ let you conquer me, you moron…'

'Don't try me, Lovi…' he said huskily.

I involuntary trembled at bit. 'S-screw you.'

Antonio sighed, grinned and abruptly pulled me against his chest for a moment, pressing my lower body against his own forcefully. W-what the…! I gasped and almost even shrieked (_manly_, of course) because of the sudden movements, but I amazingly enough managed to act like nothing vaguely erotic just happened.

However, the Spanish bastard saw right through me and his smile widened. His face came closer and closer to my own and he brusquely stole a kiss from me, not caring if all of the other nations could see it. When he pulled away and I looked at him with a weird mix of longing, breathlessness and anger on my embarrassed face, he only shrugged innocently.

'I warned you!~'

Needless to say, this cute comment was rewarded with a fierce punch of one of my iron fists up his nose.

Ah, I loved the sound of a whining Spaniard in the evening. It was almost better than the sound of the astounded and amused audience behind us, giving us a roaring applause.

**XxX**

After me and Antonio had been brave enough to dance the first dance, more nations dared to get themselves on the dance floor – either with or without a dance-partner.

Soon enough, we were surrounded by nations like Prussia and Canada, England and America, Hungary and Austria, Lithuania and Poland, Finland and Sweden, Iceland and Norway and lots of others, twirling around and around on dances like the Jive, the Samba, the Paso Doble and a couple of waltzes.

I saw Feliciano dragging a reluctant Germany to the floor, I saw France talking up to that cute Seychelles-chick (seemed like he was already over Canada) and I saw that even Switzerland and his quiet 'sister' tried to dance – sure, it was damn stiff and awkward, but at least they had fun: one look at their flushed faces was enough to confirm that.

During the rest of the evening, Antonio never let go of me and asked me to dance every fucking dance with him. Every – single – one. And I stupidly _agreed_ to it, too. It was damn tiresome, I can tell you that, but I had fun. Dancing… was fun, really. Not only the suggestive dances, in which Antonio was sometimes practically _humping_ me, but also the cheerful, quick and slow ones. Some of the many, many dances succeeded to make me laugh out loud, and every time I did that, Antonio would stare at me and blush and comment on how beautiful I looked when I smiled. Then I'd blush even more than he did and head-butt the ever-loving crap out of the bastard and subsequently, we'd continue dancing again.

It was one of the most entertaining and awesome events I had ever been to and even though I'd deny and call it stupid it later, I would probably always remember this night.

**XxX**

Way too soon, it was already time for the last dance of the ball.

And just like Antonio had predicted a while ago, it turned out to be a simple slow dance.

I was glad it was, really – I was fucking exhausted and pretty much dangling in Antonio's arms as he slowly moved the both of us over the floor. Most nations had already left Austria's House, and the only ones who were still present on the dance-floor of the ballroom were me and Antonio, Austria and Hungary, Feliciano and Germany and Prussia and Canada.

Oh, and Belgium was still at the bar, chatting and laughing with her enormous brother and… wait, it wasn't the Netherlands, it was… Russia?

Russia? And Belgium? _Flirting_?

…

…oh well, who cares.

I could barely manage to keep my eyes open when Antonio swiftly wrapped his arms around me more firmly and chuckled.

'And, Lovi? What did you think of the ball, hm?~'

I yawned and rubbed my cheek against his chest lazily. '…it could have been worse, I guess…'

Funny, the pulsation of his heart increased – I heard it myself.

'Did you… like it? To be here with me, I mean? Lovino?'

'…i-it wasn't… awful...' I muttered, shyly looking up at him once again.

The blissful expression on his face made my heart jump in delight and my warm face was only getting warmer of the realization that _I_ had made Antonio smile and gaze at me like that. For a long time, I… I didn't know I could let the Spaniard shine like that, really… maybe I should let him smile like this more often. On the other hand, no. Better not. His smile made me feel cozy and fluffy and I felt like I was going to barf fucking _rainbows_ if I was going to get even cuddlier than I already was, dammit, and I didn't even need friggin' Mika-CD's for that!

'We should be thankful for getting invited, Lovino…' Antonio said, brushing some strands of hair out of my face, '…because if it hadn't been for Austria's invitation, we… we probably wouldn't have gotten together, Lovi. We'd still be weird and silly around each other…'

I frowned. '…Spain, we're _still_ weird and silly around each other.'

'Ah, yes, but in a good way! It'll only get better, now! Don't you think so?'

'…well, maybe.'

Antonio was right. If Austria hadn't invited Antonio or hadn't planned a ball for his crazy ex-wife in the first place, we'd still be… well, having a very goofy, maybe even unhealthy kind of friendship with a lot of sexual frustration and tension…

Okay, maybe I was going to thank Austria. He kind of deserved a thank-you for getting me and his Spanish friend together.

…but not here. Not now.

Antonio sighed and leaned his chin upon the top of my head for a bit. 'After today, we'll be a real couple, Lovi…'

'Hm-hm…' That didn't sound that bad. That didn't sound that bad at all, really.

He hugged me lovingly and stared at me. I groaned. Stupid bastard couldn't stand still for one moment, dammit. Still, I returned the hug just as lovingly. Be…because that's what you do, with someone you… you love… or something…

God, I somewhere hoped my face would explode. This was too much for me to bear, dammit… or not… no, it was too much, really. But it still felt nice…

…oh, the friggin' **hell** with it. I hugged Antonio even tighter.

'…you know I'd do anything in the world to make you happy, yes?~' Antonio said, laughing cheerfully as reaction to my sudden cuddle-fever.

'I-I know…' I nodded, smiling very, _very _weakly back at him. I heard the music on the background was slowly fading away.

Antonio heard it, too, and sighed again. 'Ah, looks like the ball is ending, Lovi…'

I snorted. 'That's the rumor.'

He smiled at the remark and continued. '…but, you know what, Lovi? Even though the dance is going to end in about a few moments… _our_ dance is only about to begin. And I'll be happy to dance it with you, Lovino…'

Whoa. Cryptic.

'Dance?' I furrowed my face, '…what the hell, what dance are you talking about?'

'_This_ dance! _Our_ dance!' He pointed to himself and to me, before he pressed his lips on mine softly. I automatically leaned more into the kiss.

'…this dance, our dance,' he repeated breathily as he stopped kissing, and looked me in the (somewhat dazed) eyes:

'…and… just every other dance.'

**XxX End XxX**


	25. Thank you!

**Note: this isn't an epilogue or something; it's just a really long thank-you. Oooh!~**

I'm going to thank you guys for everything!^^

…and I wish I could say something cheesy on this special occasion, something like…

'_According to my mother, you should always be thankful to people who are kind enough to give you their attention… so I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reviewing my story!'_

…but my mom isn't somebody who says things like that. She'd rather say something like:

'_You are my daughter! Of course people give you attention, you silly girl! Now go comb your hair, it's messy!~'_

…yeah. That's my mom.

B-but anyway! I AM really thankful for all of the time you guys have spend on reading my wacky fic! So I'm going to thank you all! Keep on reading!

(Warning: things could get **dramatic** and **mushy**. WHOA.)

Thank you very much, _Blue Seer, Vermilion Skies, V-chan-rides-a-roflcopter, devsHaruhi-x, Cacow, Kou Francisco, Apocalyptic Lore, Jazmine Simmons, AnimeFreaxXx, Wanderingnote, doodlemaster22, Trishmeister, Punchy, Girasole, Ce'Nedra Queen of Random, MashednotHashed, Lambency, TarantellaEarth, Pieces of Sky, AnGeLuSyCaIm, Neko, Comprende, Stylelish-love, Shiina Rika, Haruhi-Is-Devious, QueenEzraIII, Usagichan22, TheEvilMuffinToaster, yume95, Insanity is Iminent, Lumoa _and_ the random reviewer of chapter 22_! You are all wonderful for (absurdly friendly!~) reviewing and complimenting me for my writing, always cheering for me to continue or exchange thoughts about the chapter with me. I wish I could do more for you than thanking you like this (and if I've forgotten somebody, please tell me!), but THERE ARE JUST SO MANY OF YOU!~ So I'll have to do it like this!^^ Anyways, thanks. Thank you very, very much. If every fanfic-author had reviewers like you, they'd be very lucky people. And I was. ^^

My special thanks go to (OMG, WHAT WHAT, AS IF I'M GIVING AWAY ACADEMY AWARDS)…

_Lys de Pluie, _because you're a crazy-assed French/German bitch who likes to SHIP THE WHOLE GODDAMN WORLD SENSELESS. LIKE WHOA. I love you for that. And also thanks because you practically stalked me through every chapter – thank you very much!~ You're a great, funny and angst-loving person AND a fabulous writer (you know I'm stalking you too, right?~^^) and I hope that our mutual love for carpets, scarf's, seashells, cats, Spain's ass, your awesome dad, crazy messages and weird doujinshi's will last forever. So please continue with being _you_, Julie.^^

_Fanficitonlover4allfiction,_ because you almost always REWARDED ME WITH YOUR CAPS LOCKED LOVE OF TGFJKHKLJKLJK AND TFRFGUKHKJH AND EVEN LKLK:SADASDAD!^^ Aw, you know what I mean!~ Also, thank you for always pointing out grammatical errors and thanks for your SUPER LONG REVIEWS OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION! I loved it! You're fantastic!~

_Venus Syrinx, _because you were always so damn nice to me and so damn eager for the next chapter – _always_! That's really motivational, you know?^^ So thank you so much for that! Oh, and for your love of war-axe –scenes… there can never be enough of that.

_Tamer Lorika, _because I managed to make you melt. Melting people is fun!^^ Plus, you managed to make me write a FRIGGIN' SPAIN/AXE STORY, WHAT WHAT! 0_0 Furthermore, you're waaaaay too nice in your comments – seriously, I'm almost unworthy of your kindness. Thanks! ^/^

_foxyaoi123, _because your short, but wonderful comments always managed to make me chuckle – just as your undying love for PruCan and Prussia in general. You're awesome!^^

_FoolishLittleDuck, _because… I… I never was proposed to before, and I can hardly believe now it has finally happened… LOL! XDDDDD Your super-nice comments always made me feel better about myself AND about my story! You slimeball, you!~ I friggin' lurv you for that!~

_Verito.S, _because you always told me in a few words what you liked about my chapters and because you always knew to point out curious things in some of my chapters (it really IS weird that Spain doesn't clean his war-axe…)! It's really nice when people notice small things like that, so thank you so much for that!~

_Vanilla Slash, _because the overload of fluff was very much approved by you, even if it DID make your teeth rot!~ Don't worry, I'll pay the bill.^^ I always was a bit unsure about the amount of fluff in my chapters (WAY TOO MUCH, GAH), so when people like you told me you liked it very much, I felt special… and… fluffy… *shot* So… thanks!

_IchigoMelon, _because I really liked your happiness whenever I updated! I couldn't get enough of reading your 'Yay! Another chapter!^^' –comments, it made me want to say 'Yay! Another review from you!^^'…and I probably already DID say that to you, but who cares!~ Thanks, anyway! Hope you liked it!

and_ The Second Side of Happiness,_ because not only you, but also your name is simply awesome. And because you were so kind to also point out the (gaaahhh) grammatical errors I have made during this story! That really helped! ^^

...and that's all. I hoped you all enjoyed my fic, just as much as I enjoyed writing it!~

-_ Sunny_


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